Paige to keynote Lilburn Black History Month celebration

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige will keynote the Black History Month celebration at New Mercies Christian Church in Lilburn on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Paige, a lifelong educator and author, was the first African-American to serve as education secretary and was deeply involved in the bipartisan passage of the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind law. New Mercies’ Senior Pastor Jesse Curney, III, said the event celebrates Black History Month and honors Paige as “a living legend.” The church is located at 4000 Five Forks Trickum Road.