Jesse Jackson, Alveda King to highlight Lavarn Watson book signing Saturday in Albany
Terry Lewis
ALBANY — Jesse Jackson and Alveda King will be at Mt. Zion Baptist Church from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday for a book signing of Lavarn Watson’s new book “Injustice Within Our Justice System: The Lavarn Watson Story.”
Jackson, King and Watson are expected to discuss current day and historical civil rights issues. The event is free and open to the public.
Watson is a native of Albany and had worked as a patrol officer with the Albany Police Department for six years when he was charged in 1977 with the rape of an 18-year-old woman while he was in uniform. Watson was convicted by a jury of 11 white men and a black woman and was sentenced by late Superior Court Judge Asa Kelly to 10 years in prison and 10 years on probation.
According to his web site, injusticejustice.com, “Dr. Watson has been fighting to be exonerated of the crimes he did not commit and has been seeking vindication since his release in 1985. His vindication comes in the form of spreading his story and fighting for civil justices for all humans. The judicial system has always been regarded as taking a stance against injustice, in this case the injustice came from the judicial system.”
Watson is an ordained minister and doctor of philosophy, having attended Bethany Divinity College and Seminary.
King is the niece of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and daughter of civil rights activist A. D. King and his wife Naomi Barber King. She is the fulltime pastoral associate of African-American Outreach for the Roman Catholic pro-life group, Priests for Life.
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