For the third year, the Newtown Florist Club will host a week-long event leading up to Martin Luther King Day.
The 2023 King Week Celebration begins on Monday, Jan. 9 and ends on Saturday, Jan, 14. According to the Executive Director of the Newtown Florist Club, Reverend Rose Johnson, the theme this year is ‘Rebuilding the village one brick at a time - Continues.’
“How can we make this community where we live overall a place where everybody loves to live and loves to feel a part of the village?” Johnson said.
The first event will be held Monday evening at 7 p.m. with a community conversation on Facebook Live.
The second event will be a community meeting with law enforcement, criminal justice and public officials Tuesday evening beginning at 6 p.m. at the Fair Street Neighborhood Center.
“We just simply want to reconnect with law enforcement, criminal justice officials and public officials as public policymakers to revisit the open-air conversations that were held after the murder of George Floyd,” Johnson said.
Wednesday the club will host a Facebook live to tackle the issue of homelessness at 7 p.m. where solutions will be discussed. Johnson said this is a major concern the club has noticed in the community.
Another Facebook live will be held Thursday at 7:30 p.m. to introduce the Newtown Florist Club’s 2023 Black Business calendar. The Facebook Live is a part of the Black Business Table Talk series that the club hosts monthly as a part of its economic justice project.
“We have already produced two black business directories so that the community can really see the vibrancy of economic progress in the black community. We will also have a conversation that focuses on the work of the Northeast Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce,” Johnson said.
Saturday the club, together with two other non-profits, Beyond the Bench and Sisters with a Purpose will sponsor a trip to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Park. This event is open to middle and high school students. In order to sign up for the trip, you can call the Newtown Florists Club at 770-718-1343 or email them at [email protected].
“The trip is free. So all they have to do is just call the office and say I want to go we'll work it out,” Johnson said.
The community-building does not stop there. The Newtown Florist Club will also be partnering with the American Red Cross to install smoke alarms in the New Town Community.
