Swannanoa Valley to honor King legacy with virtual prayer
Annual event set for Feb. 6
The Valley Echo
January 18, 2021
Camp Dorothy Walls has hosted the annual Swannanoa Valley Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast 14 times since the annual event debuted in 1991. This year organizers will hold a prayer gathering, Saturday, Feb. 6. Photo by Fred McCormick
Each year since 1991 the Swannanoa Valley has gathered to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a prayer breakfast, highlighted by speeches from civil rights leaders from around the world.
While much of that tradition will continue beginning at 9 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 6, the 2021 version will instead be the virtual Swannanoa Valley Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Gathering.
Organized annually by the Swannanoa Valley Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Corp., the prayer breakfast has been held at Camp Dorothy Walls on Cragmont Road since 2014. The organization, which was founded by the late Lib Harper and then Black Mountain Mayor Carl Bartlett in 1990, serves to preserve and share King’s vision within the community. Its annual scholarship program supports local students who plan to enroll in a 2- or 4-year college after graduation, and offers renewal scholarships for previous recipients.
Speaking at this year’s virtual prayer gathering is Asheville native Oralene Simmons, who founded the Asheville Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast in 1982. Simmons has been a civil rights leader in Western North Carolina for decades, and was the first African American student enrolled at Mars Hill College (now Mars Hill University) in 1961. Her enslaved great-great-grandfather, Joseph Anderson, was held as collateral against the construction of the college, which featured his masonry work on the original buildings.
Simmons has been recognized for her civil rights work numerous times during her career, and will be making her first appearance as the guest speaker for the Swannanoa Valley Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Gathering.
Black Mountain resident and global activist David LaMotte will perform during the virtual event.
Throughout its history, the prayer breakfast has been held at several locations throughout the Swannanoa Valley. The first six years of the annual event were held at Ridgecrest Conference Center before moving to the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in 1997. Camp Dorothy Walls, which was founded in 1958 by Bishop William Jacob Walls, first hosted the gathering in 2000. The prayer breakfast alternated locations between Ridgecrest and Camp Dorothy Walls through the 2000s and early 2010s. It has been held at Camp Dorothy Walls since 2014.
The Swannanoa Valley Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Corp. is led by a nine-person board of directors, led by President Sheila Showers. Sylvia Carpenter and Lillian Logan are the co-chairs of the prayer breakfast.
To learn more about the Swannanoa Valley Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Corp. visit svmlk.org.