Belleville Holds Martin Luther King Tribute, Flag Raising Event

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Belleville town officials held a ceremony at Town Hall on Monday to commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

During the event, a special flag was raised which bore the iconic civil rights leader’s image.

The Rev. Dwayne McCain of the Little Zion Church and Darryl Jeffries, president of the Maplewood/Oranges chapter of the NAACP, invited guest speakers at the tribute, spoke about King’s eternal message of hope and community service.

“It’s become a tradition to share some of Dr. King’s most beloved quotes on his birthday,” Belleville Mayor Michael Melham said, referencing an excerpt from his “Beyond Vietnam” address, given in 1967.

King said:

“We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives, and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”

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