The performers of Behold, Here Cometh the Dreamer, opened the doors of the Averitt Center to their ninth annual performance honoring Martin Luther King Jr. on Thursday, January 16, 2025.
Dozens of guests showed up for the performance where the hosts and performers read and sang poetry.
Some featured poems were written by Nikki Giovanni, an African American poet.
Author Nicholas Wedlow was the guest speaker for the event and gave a speech honoring the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. He read excerpts from his book Overnight Father, a book about family and fatherhood.
The director of Behold, Here Cometh the Dreamer is Mical Whitaker. He is a retired theatre professor at Georgia Southern University.
He started this event because he wanted to pay tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., so the date surrounds MLK Jr.'s birthday each year.
"I wanted to name something that would be perpetual, that would go from year to year and tell the story through words," Whitaker said. "Spoken words, sung words, and preached words."
This event started in the Whitaker Black Box Theatre, which seats a smaller audience. However, the event outgrew the Black Box Theatre and has since moved to the Averitt Center.
Whitaker started the event after reading the phrase "Behold, Here Cometh The Dreamer" on the fascia of the Martin Luther King, Jr. museum in Birmingham, Alabama.
"Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King was a minister and so much of the words about him come from the Bible,” Whitaker said.
Many of the audience members were friends and family members of Whitaker.
James Wesley Holloway is a co-owner of Dependable Cabs, a cab service out of Metter, and has been friends with Whitaker since 1980.
“They do so many shows and all of them bring out not only knowledge and education, but it brings out a spirit,” Holloway said.
The show closed with music performed by Alton West and Whitaker's cousin, Dr. Felecia George Prince, with participation from the audience.
