Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - Roslyn Sanders and her family will be celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday in Washington, linking the civil rights icon with the election of Barack Obama.

Her three young children "don't really understand what people sacrificed," to make Tuesday's inauguration of the first black president possible, said the Lawrenceville mother, whose own mother tells stories about segregation to the family. "We're happy they have a better life. There's a point where you definitely have to pause and give thanks to the older generation."

For those who aren't making the trip to D.C., Martin Luther King Day events will be held here, closer to the Atlanta church where King was a pastor.

The United Ebony Society will host its annual parade and celebration Monday, beginning at 10 a.m. in the Lawrenceville Square. The event, with a theme devoted to Obama - "From a Dream ... to Fruition" - will continue at noon at Central Gwinnett High School.

Church and fraternal groups, bands, steppers, dance troupes, floats, Boy and Girl Scouts and anyone else is invited to participate in the march, marking what would have been King's 80th birthday.