The seventh annual gathering on the square to commemorate Black Easter, Covington's most famous civil rights event, will take place Sunday at 3 p.m.

The gathering will feature singing, fellowship and speakers like Georgia Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta.

In 1970, about 5,000 people marched on the Covington square to seek "equal rights for all," according to Forrest Sawyer, organizer and local activist.

Sawyer said at that point in Covington's history hospitals, law enforcement and businesses were still segregated. Black police officers could not arrest whites. The jail was also segregated.
Six marchers, later known as the Newton Six, were arrested and held for 45 days - Sawyer being one.

"A lot of us think we live in a better city because of that march," said Sawyer.