MOBILE, Alabama — Communities across Mobile and Baldwin counties came together in January 2015 for a series of marches, church services, breakfasts and educational programs honoring the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., continuing decades-old local traditions tied to the federal holiday.
In Mobile, Bishop State Community College hosted “The Dream Alive,” a tribute presentation featuring guest speaker the Rev. Robert R.A. Turner of St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Tuscaloosa. The organization People United to Advance the Dream, Inc. organized several events that week, including a fellowship dinner at Christ Temple Apostolic Church, an ecumenical service at Mount Hebron Ministries, and the 25th annual Martin Luther King march, which began at Bishop State’s campus, proceeded down Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and ended with a rally at Lyons Park.
Prichard held its own march and rally that year, starting near the Bill Clark Center and ending at the A.J. Cooper Municipal Complex, with former Mobile Mayor Sam Jones serving as guest speaker. The event was sponsored in part by a local funeral home and the Prichard Housing Authority. Separately, the University of South Alabama organized an MLK Day of Service for students and campus organizations through its Center for Academic Service-Learning and Civic Engagement.
The Port City Chapter of Blacks in Government hosted its 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast at Bishop State, featuring then-U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown as guest speaker.
In Baldwin County, the Baldwin County Martin Luther King Celebration Committee organized a memorial program at a Bay Minette church, followed by the county’s 29th annual memorial march beginning at Daphne City Hall and ending at the Daphne Civic Center, where a Bay Minette city councilman delivered the keynote address. Loxley residents held a separate community march along Highway 59.
Taken together, the slate of 2015 observances reflected how deeply the holiday’s traditions had taken root on both sides of Mobile Bay, with churches, colleges, civic groups and local governments all playing a role in commemorating King’s civil rights legacy.