Timothy Browning, Morehouse College sophomore.

TIFTON, Ga. — Tift County celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Jan. 16 with prayer, commemorative services and a march which ended with a celebration on the Tift County Courthouse steps.

This year’s holiday would have been King’s 88th birthday, and is a day typically set aside for acts of service. The phrase used most often is “a day on, not a day off.”

The day started with a prayer breakfast at the Tift County Recreation Department.

There were multiple public officials in attendance.

Mayor Julie Smith opened the breakfast, and the featured speaker was County commissioner Melissa Hughes.

Ella Pettiford was honored with a service award for her years of service to many organizations including Proud Loving Individuals Giving a Hand to Teens, or PLIGHT, and her church.

The highlight of the morning was Solomon Nixon III, who gave a monologue through the alphabet to tell about the legacy of King.

Nixon, 6, gave his speech without notes and received a standing ovation from the crowd.

The letter that got the biggest reaction was the letter “I” which stood for “I have a dream,” which Nixon quoted with enthusiasm.

Following the breakfast, Greater Springfield Baptist Church hosted the commemorative service honoring King and other leaders in the community for leadership and devotion to bettering their communities.

Ambrose B. King, Jr, of Atlanta, has been putting together the service since 2007.

Ambrose opened the service with remarks about the qualities King embodied.

“As Coretta Scott King intended with this national holiday, is to place the principals of brotherly and sisterly love, nonviolence and moral leadership right in front of each of us so that we can lead by example,” said Ambrose King. “We do not honor Dr. King simply because he is a preacher leading the civil rights movement. We honor this Morehouse College man because he was the very thing itself. He didn’t just talk about nonviolence, peace and love, he was the word in flesh.”

Fitzgerald High School JROTC battalion presented the flag for the pledge of allegiance, which was followed by praise music performed by the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church Mass Choir.

City councilman Johnny Terrell was on hand to welcome visitors on behalf of the church. County commissioners Donnie Hester and Melissa Hughes were also in attendance, as were various members of the clergy and their families.

Several Morehouse College ministers spoke at the service.

Sophomore Timothy Browning gave an impassioned speech urging attendees to perform acts of service throughout the year, not just on MLK Day.

“Today we as a nation pause to pay homage to perhaps the most beloved black man ever to live in America, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Millions over the weekend have made plans and arrangements to honor his life and legacy that range from going to marching band parades, serving at soup kitchens, homeless shelters and less fortunate impoverished communities with the intent of emulating the work of Dr. King and seeking to keep the mantra “a day on not a day off” true with acts of service,” said Browning.

“The responsibility sets in when one looks around at his or her community and they realize that if Jesus is truly in him or herself they cannot idly stand by and watch social constructs, crooked politicians and immoral laws claim their community because if Jesus is in you and you are in Jesus you can’t stand by and watch folks suffer.”

“When Jesus is in you, you can’t stand by.”

“And so we gather here to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, someone who embodied the scripture for not only its comfortability but also for its responsibility. Dr. King knew Jesus was in him, this is why Dr. King could not stand by idly because he knew that if Jesus was in him, he had to do something.”

His fellow Morehouse student, Jyrekis B. Collins, spoke as well, citing scripture in his remarks about there being a better day on the way.

Georgia State Court of Appeals presiding judge John J. Ellington was on hand to introduce his friend and former colleague Judge Herbert Phipps, who was receiving the John Wesley Edwards, Sr. Leadership Par Excellent Award.

“This ceremony says a lot about Martin Luther King, and it says a lot about Herbert Phipps, but it also says a lot about all of you,” said Ellington.

“It says that we honor public service, we appreciate excellence, we recognize hard work and achievement and we value friendship, and I thank and salute you for honoring Herb Phipps today and for giving me this opportunity to be part of this ceremony.”

Ellington gave a little of Phipps’ history, saying Phipps “was a force in Georgia during the civil rights movement.

“Ask him about integrating the Fox Theater in downtown Atlanta, or the best fried chicken he ever ate while sharing a jail cell in Albany with Dr. Martin Luther King.

“He was not always successful in the courthouse, but he was always successful at raising the consciousness of society with regards to civil rights and equal rights. His courage, his resolve, his commitment to social justice that he demonstrated then have won him the admiration and appreciation of people all across Georgia.”

Phipps spoke about how appreciative he was for the award.

He also used his time to remind the audience about why they were there.

“John Wesley Edwards Sr and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, they were about goodness and mercy and justice and doing something, and I want to say to you, we can say today that Martin Luther King Jr is one of the most believed men in America,” said Phipps. “But I often tell my wife that everybody loves a dead man.

“I don’t know about you but I was alive when MLK was alive and I was alive when he was killed. When he was alive he was the most hated man in America and we don’t need to forget that.

“We stand here today in America 154 years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and the people he sought to free are still not free. We’re here 54 years after King proclaimed his dream of freedom and justice for all, and his dream is still nothing but a dream.”

He referenced the United States Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act in 2013, saying “it’s fine to commemorate Dr. King’s legacy and the work that he did but it’s not time to celebrate anything.You celebrate victories, you celebrate when you’ve won the battle. We haven’t won this battle.”

“Voting rights, criminal justice, education, housing, all the other things that you can think of that we thought we’d taken care of, we’ve got to redig those old wells.”

Nick Green, who was recently inducted into the inaugural class of the Tift County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014, was awarded the Coach Eric Holland Leadership and Mentoring Award.

Green said that he did not expect to get the award and was appreciative and spoke about his current project aimed at revitalizing young African American boys’ interest and participation in baseball.

After the two hour service was concluded, marchers began to gather for the parade and march to the Tift County Courthouse.

The route took the parade 15 blocks, many marching and singing the whole way.

There were also about 25 cars following the marchers, and many others showed up directly at the courthouse to participate.

Once at the courthouse, there was singing, speeches and performances.

County commissioner Donnie Hester, who was on hand for the entire celebration, said, “when I was coming up, it was a little tough, but it got better and better. We’re not there yet, but we’re striving to get there.

“Tift County is a good place. It’s still that black and white, but it’s getting better.”