A monument honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Orangeburg County Courthouse grounds.
Jan. 21, 2017
Eleven-year-old Caroline and Claudia, 7, beamed with pride and took the occasional selfie as their grandfather, state Sen. John Matthews, was presented an award from his brothers of the Delta Zeta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
The sisters were front and center commemorating and celebrating with hundreds of others the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the 28th Annual MLK Unity Breakfast and awards program at Edisto Fork United Methodist Church on Jan. 14.
The event recognized community leaders who work to make Orangeburg County and the Palmetto State a better place.
“As a senator, we share our grandfather with lots of other people, but he always makes us feel special,” Caroline Matthews said. “Our grandfather goes to work every day trying to make a difference for so many children and adults, like Dr. King did.”
Sen. Matthews was one of three recipients of the Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award for his work representing S.C. Senate Dist. 39, which includes Berkeley, Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties.
“Our road ahead does not depend on what others do for us; it depends on what we are willing to do for ourselves,” Matthews said during his remarks.
With more than four decades as a state lawmaker, Matthews currently serves on the Senate Education, Finance, Banking and Insurance, Rules, Ethics and Invitations committees.
The common thread throughout the event — whether offered in remarks by Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler and others or the prayer by Rev. Dr. Joe Singleton or the musical selections by Jarvis Jett — was that all Americans are direct beneficiaries of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.
Claudia Matthews said her favorite part of the event wasn’t the food or music, “it was supporting my granddad.”
“If people support and love one another more, the world would be better,” she said.
This article originally ran on thetandd.com.
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