The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday began early Monday with the annual Interfaith Prayer Breakfast at St. Mark Baptist Church. The breakfast was hosted by the church and the Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission.
While guests enjoyed a hearty breakfast made and served by members of the church, there was a program honoring King with prayer, song and remembrances.
Billy St. James, who served as master of ceremonies, noted that it has been said that prayer was King's secret weapon in the civil rights movement. He added, "Today we join in the spirit of unity across religious, economic and racial differences, great and small, to honor one man that had a dream ...."
The prayers and speeches were interspersed with music by vocalist Tawanna Campbell. Speakers included U.S. Sen. John Boozman; U.S. Rep. French Hill; Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola; DuShun Scarbrough, executive director of the commission; Gov. Asa Hutchinson; and commission chairman Phil Kaplan.
Kaplan told the crowd, "We look forward to a great year and ask for your support as we aim to reach more people in poor and underserved areas of the state, continue to align our programming goals with the governor's initiative, and serve even more Arkansans through outreach and community services to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King year-round, thereby teaching our youth about good decision-making and Dr. King's principles of nonviolence."
High Profile on 01/22/2017