Norwich – The Norwich branch of the NAACP will host its 33rd annual Martin Luther King birthday celebration with its two traditional events to be held over the next week. 

The theme of this year’s two-day celebration is “Different American Realties – Shared American Dreams.”

The celebration will begin Friday with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Luncheon 12:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at Norwich Free Academy, 305 Broadway, Norwich. The keynote speaker will be Elizabeth Gonzalez, executive director of Centro de la Communidad in New London.

During the event, the 2018 Robertsine Duncan Memorial Award will be given to Barry Shead, vice president and branch manager of Savings Institute Bank & Trust. The award recognizes an individual or organization for outstanding efforts to ensure quality education for children while being an advocate on behalf of the community, city and state.

Norwich NAACP President Dianne Daniels said Shead’s service extends to both youth and adults. Active in Norwich Rotary, Shead is co-founder and an active participant in the annual Rotary Celebrate Diversity event held in September. He also donates many hours and provides financial support for youth organizations, Daniels said.

“He reaches out to everybody, young and adults,” Daniels said.

In 2017, the Norwich NAACP branch established the Terell T. Wilson Scholarship Award in memory of the past vice president of the NAACP Robertsine Duncan Youth Council and president of the NAACP Connecticut State Conference of Youth and College Division. Wilson, 24, a former Norwich City Council member, died in May 2016 from injuries suffered in a head-on collision in which his car was struck by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 95.

The scholarship award will be given to a senior who is an active member of the NAACP Robertsine Duncan Youth Council. Two scholarships will be awarded Friday to inaugural recipients Dakota Rivera and Daisy Wang, both seniors at NFA.

Tickets to Friday’s luncheon and award presentation are $30 for adults, $15 for students. Tickets are available at the NAACP website, www.norwichbranchnaacp.org/mlkluncheon or by calling (860) 886-1686 or by email at president@norwichbranchnaacp.org. Daniels also will have tickets available at the Norwich Registrar of Voters office during regular office hours at City Hall.

On Jan. 15, Martin Luther King Day, the Norwich NAACP branch will host its annual march and speaking program.

Marchers will gather at 1:15 p.m. in the David Ruggles Freedom Courtyard in front of Norwich City Hall, 100 Broadway. After brief remarks, the group will march through downtown to the Evans Memorial AME Zion Church at 2 McKinley Ave., where the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration Program will be held at 2 p.m. The main speaker will be Rev. John Gentry, Pastor of Evans Memorial AME Zion Church.

Monday’s march and celebration are free and open to the public.

c.bessette@theday.com