Sumter Co. to dedicate official state marker

SUMTER CO., GA (WALB) - Sumter County officials will dedicate an official state civil rights marker this weekend.

The Albany Movement started at Old Mt. Zion Baptist church and Shiloh Missionary Baptist church. Martin Luther King Junior led meetings here before marchers would pour out of the churches and into the streets.

When Dr. King was arrested for leading the first unpermitted Non-violent Civil Rights Movement march in Albany in December 1961 he was held in the old Sumter County jail for his safety. Sumter County will unveil a marker commemorating his incarceration Saturday. One Sumter County woman said Dr. King is her hero and his efforts should never be forgotten.

"When Dr.King led marches in the South it was for basic and better living conditions for job opportunities, for voting rights, and those are things now that seem we just take for granted, but we all need to be reminded that how it came about that we all enjoy these freedoms," said Pamela, angry resident.

The ceremony will kick off on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Sumter County Courthouse on West Lamar Street.

A marker approved by the Georgia Historical Society will also mention other important highlights of the Civil Rights movements.

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