HOLIDAY | Soul force

Here are a few Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in Jacksonville and Springfield taking place on Monday, Jan. 20. Illinois College and the city of Jacksonville will celebrate with critically acclaimed author and NAACP Image-Award recipient Sheyann Webb-Christburg (pictured left) who will speak at 11 a.m. in Rammelkamp Chapel, 1101 W. College Ave. on the campus of Illinois College. She was the youngest civil rights activist at the age of nine and was nicknamed by King as “The Smallest Freedom Fighter.” This is a free event. For more info, phone 217-245-3271. Also in Jacksonville, a unity breakfast at Hamilton’s, a freedom march and an IC Black Student Union event from 8-10 p.m. and more. In Springfield, the Springfield Club Frontiers International will hold its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at Hilton Springfield, downtown. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling 217-787-8373. Pastor Cora Alston, of Nashville, Tenn., will be the keynote speaker. Also in the capital city, Springfield NAACP will host its annual unity march from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The march leaves from Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, 1800 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., and ends at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, 908 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., where a program and panel discussion will take place. Last but not least, Northside Children’s Community Library, at 1030 N. Seventh St., welcomes everyone to come out to celebrate and learn about Martin Luther King Jr. from 4-6 p.m. There will be arts, crafts and food. This program is sponsored and taught by members of the Emerging Young Leaders Program of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. in Springfield. For more info, phone 217-528-9277.