Sikeston's MLK Day celebration features inspiring speaker and community events

SIKESTON — Sikeston’s Dr. Martin Luther King Day Committee will present the 39th Annual Celebration Concert at 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18 at Green Memorial Church of God in Christ, 113 Clayton Ave., in Sikeston.

The celebration continues on Monday, Jan. 20. The motorcade parade lineup will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Green Memorial COGIC, where the official service will start at noon Jan. 20. This year's honored speaker is Trevor Wesley A. French, senior pastor of the Ark of Safety Spiritual Church, in St. Louis, Missouri.

A native of the Bi-State/Metro-East region, French has been devoted to ministry since a young age. He has been preaching since the age of 14, and he accepted his call into the ministry in 2009 and became an ordained minister in June 2022 under Archbishop Dr. Michael A. West, Sr.; founder and pastor of St. Michael’s Temple of the Expanded Mind.

French is also an educator, serving as an AVID and CTE instructor at McCluer High School in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Alabama A&M University, a Master of Arts in Teaching-business education, and an Educational Specialist degree in administration from Lindenwood University.

French founded the New Conscience Ministry of Love and Peace on the Campus of Alabama A&M University. His efforts continued by establishing Generating Our Destiny, or G.O.D., a nonprofit organization aimed at meeting the needs of the poor, financial literacy, increasing the purchasing power of individuals and family members and combating systemic racism in education. In January 2023, French founded The Ark of Safety Spiritual Church, where he serves as the senior pastor.