Quincy celebrates Dr. King

A packed house filled Quincy’s Bethel AME Church Monday morning for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

 

Rev. Orville Jones of Quincy’s First Baptist Church served as master of ceremonies for the event. Jones stressed the significance of the day. “This day is a wonderful day of celebration where we remember our black Moses, and we celebrate his leadership, his contributions to humanity, his way of changing the world. That’s what we’re celebrating today.”

 

Rev. James Hailey of Bethel AME hosted the event, which alternates between his church and Rev. Jones’s First Baptist.

 

Quincy Mayor John Spring reflected on today’s local events coinciding with the second inauguration of President Barack Obama.

 

Spring said he was in attendance at the first Obama inauguration four years ago and said it was a “most rewarding experience…a once in a lifetime experience.

 

The keynote speaker was Rev. Minnie Smith of Willow Street Christian Church of Hannibal.

 

Those in attendance, led by the Young Achievers student group, sang hymns throughout the ceremony to mark the occasion.