The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Steering Committee was begun in 1994 as a result of a conversation between the Rev. Tony Thompson (former pastor of the Shady Grove Baptist Church) and the Rev. James E. Swanson (former pastor of the St. Mary's Road United Methodist Church). They were seeking ways to broaden the celebration of the King holiday from being primarily observed in the African American community to include the entire community in a truly integrated celebration in Columbus, Georgia. The Steering Committee resulted, and included leaders of both the black and white communities. The early guiding principle was to involve those persons that were already involved in historic celebrations in the African American Community and then to add new events and to encourage the Columbus area community to think of other ways to celebrate its diversity and to push toward unity in the community.