Alton To Host 46th Annual Martin Luther King Commemoration

ALTON - President Leon Smallwood-Bey, the 2025 Dr. King Committee, and the Executive Committee of the Alton Branch National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announce their 46th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration will be Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The event will be held at Alton’s Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, 2621 Amelia St., and is set to begin at 3 p.m.

The 2025 theme is “Don’t Give Up on the Dream!” People will gather to honor Dr. King’s faith, love, and courage through song, community recognition, and the keynote address.

The Riverbend Choir will offer musical selections. Alton’s NAACP Youth Council will attend, and the NAACP will present the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award to a Pastor of one of the oldest churches in Alton. Leah Becoat and members of Three Purple Coats Theater Company will do an “I Have Dream” Presentation.

East St. Louis Monitor Newspaper Journalist Reginald Riddle-Young will be the keynote speaker for the event. Reginald Riddle-Young is a native East St. Louisan where he completed his formative education graduating from the renowned Lincoln Senior High School. He knew academic and professional achievement was the key to achieving higher social, economic and intellectual status; therefore, he furthered his education at Western Illinois University earning a Bachelor of Arts in Communications/Journalism and a Master of Arts in Public Relations from Webster University.

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He is currently employed with the State of Illinois as an ILO/TLP Monitor.

In addition, the past 25 years he has served as a print journalist at the East St. Louis Monitor Newspaper covering local, regional and national events ranging from education, government, health, community and special interest stories to name a few.

Reginald loves East St. Louis and all that it has to offer. He is actively involved in numerous community/civic projects past and present.

As a community and civic-minded individual, he has given of his time to help promote many causes. He currently serves as chairman of the East St. Louis Martin Luther King Celebration, Chairman of the Metro-East Committee Against Domestic Violence, President Lincoln High School Alumni Association, President Pro Eight Social Civic Organization, Co-chairman for the 100th Celebration of the NAACP East St. Louis Branch and most recently as Nomination Chairman and Supervisory Chairman.

As Past President National Pan Hellenic Council of East St. Louis and Past President Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity East St. Louis, Reginald encourages social change through community service and social action. He continues to inspire and stimulate a generation of men to invest themselves to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

He is the proud son of Patricia Riddle and Fred Young and is a dedicated member of the Life Center International Church of God in Christ (St. Louis, MO) where Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson, III is his pastor.

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