By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES --How do you feel about Martin Luther King Day? What does it mean to you? These were the questions proposed to everyone gathered at Mount Calvary Baptist Church, by Saundria Wilson, President of the Niles branch of the NAACP.
On Monday morning, Wilson, together with the Rev. Bryant Bacon and members of the community, celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the annual Community Fellowship Breakfast. Along with audience reflections, those in attendance viewed videos about Dr. King and Rosa Parks, and also had the opportunity to look through a collection of memorobilia composed by Louis Stennis.
As an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, Stennis began collecting stamps honoring numerous African Americans. Since then, his collection has grown to include magazines, postcards and coins, as well as photos of Parks at Franklin African Methodist Episcopal Church during her a visit to Niles.
Stennis has been enjoying the hobby for 10 years and said Martin Luther King Jr. Day is, “the big day that I show it.”
The annual day celebrating Dr. King's life is an important holiday, Wilson said.
Wilson also felt it was important to anknowledged Dr. King's work to improve conditions for all people, not only African Americans. “Civil rights is not just black and white,” said Wilson, who is also a mentor teacher in the virtual lab at Niles High School. “Everyone has the right to try and succeed.”
Monday was the seventh annual Community Fellowship Breakfast hosted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.