The city of Springfield celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. with a ceremony at City Hall on Jan. 20.
Reminder Publishing photos by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — The city of Springfield honored the life, legacy and message of Martin Luther King Jr. at City Hall on Jan. 20.
During a ceremony, NAACP officers were sworn in by Springfield Police Superintendent Larry Akers, and Bishop Talbot Swan II was installed as 2025 Greater Springfield NAACP President, becoming the longest serving president in the chapter’s history.
The ceremony also included the performance of the Black National Anthem by the “Songstress of Springfield” Vanessa Ford and Springfield Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Judi Crowell, and a proclamation was made by Mayor Domenic Sarno.
Among those who gave remarks were MLK Family Services Director Shannon Rudder, and Talbot, who provided an address that urged the public to remember King as someone who “challenged the comfortable, confronted the powerful, and called out hypocrisy wherever he saw it.”
“He called for policies that dismantle systemic racism and uplift the poor and prioritize humanity over property,” Talbot II said. “So, as we honor him today, let us remember that Dr. King was not simply a dreamer. He was a disruptor. He was not just a producer of peace. He was a prophet of justice. He was not here to make America comfortable, but he was here to hold America accountable.”
City Council Vice President Tracye Whitfield, and City Councilors Sean Curran, Jose Delgado and Lavar Click-Bruce were also in attendance for the ceremony at City Hall, as were state Reps. Carlos Gonzalez, Orlando Ramos and Bud Williams.
A flag raising occurred after the ceremony.
