Renowned coach and educator to give keynote speech at annual Martin Luther King banquet
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IDAHO FALLS – David Snell is promoting examples of “kindness in progress” at this year’s Martin Luther King Banquet.
The annual event hosted by the Idaho Falls African American Alliance is kicking off its 19th year. It’s happening on Jan. 23 at the Mountain America Center. There will be multiple speakers and a buffet-style dinner. The keynote speaker is Alfred “Coach” Powell. Powell, according to the IFAAA, is “an internationally celebrated motivational speaker, author, and educator with over four decades of experience transforming communities of color.”
Snell tells EastIdahoNews.com the kindness theme was inspired by his church, Glad Tidings Church of God in Christ, based in Memphis, Tennessee. He watches services online and has attended in person over the years at its Ogden, Utah building. Snell says “kindness in progress” is an attribute the church preaches constantly and he felt it was a timely message in today’s world.
“We have to be more like Christ. We need to be a little kinder toward one another,” Snell says. “It seems like nobody likes each other anymore and so we have to get back to the basics.”
Snell declined to offer any specific point of reference. He says there are numerous things happening throughout the world that show a lack of kindness and he wants that to change.
He cites a recent experience he had with his grandson that inspired him.
“I was in the store with my grandson. The guy ahead of us struck up a conversation while paying for his groceries. He was really friendly and my grandson was talking and laughing with him,” Snell says.
The man later paid for their groceries and Snell says his grandson was pleasantly surprised.
“Grandpa, we didn’t even know that guy and he paid for our groceries!” Snell recalls his grandson saying afterward. “He came home and told his grandma about it. It’s an incident he’ll never forget.”
Snell says the kindness of people in eastern Idaho is one reason he’s enjoyed living here for the last 43 years. It’s also an attribute that Snell says Dr. Martin Luther King demonstrated throughout his life.
More than 200,000 demonstrators gathered in the nation’s capital to make a stand for jobs and freedom. It was August 28, 1963, a day that has become historic not just for being one of the largest gatherings for civil rights of its time, but also because of the words spoken by the man behind it all — the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation,” King said as he began his remarks to the crowd.
The demonstration became one of the largest in history and ushered in the Civil Rights movement.
Black history and civil rights in Pocatello
During that time, Pocatello had the largest Black population in the state. Between 500 and 600 African-Americans were living in the Gate City, according to Idaho State University history professor Kevin Marsh.
More than a decade before the Civil Rights movement began, many of Pocatello’s citizens held a demonstration of their own.
“In 1952, the YMCA here in town didn’t allow black children to use their pool. Local people in black and white communities began marching outside the YMCA, saying we aren’t going to tolerate this,” Marsh said in a 2024 interview with EastIdahoNews.com. “These types of things were happening on a smaller scale throughout the West before Martin Luther King emerged as a civil rights leader in the South.”
Pocatello attracted many people after the first and second world wars because jobs were in high demand and the railroad was hiring. Pocatello was a major stopping point for Union Pacific at the time.
Although historical records show that life for African-Americans was much better in eastern Idaho than in other places, it still had its challenges.
Segregation was a reality in Pocatello. The Black people lived in a part of town called the Triangle Neighborhood. Les Purce, who became Idaho’s first Black elected official, grew up in this neighborhood. He recalled his upbringing and ancestral ties to the area in a recent episode of “It’s Worth Mentioning.”
The Ku Klux Klan became active in Pocatello in 1920, according to the Idaho Legislature’s Black history timeline. It “used intimidation to keep ethnic minorities in the segregated neighborhood.”
“In 1923, the Triangle’s black residents were in a state of fear. The Klan had burned a cross and staged an open parade marching the streets of the downtown business district. Klansmen began regular horseback rides through the black community dressed in white sheets, carrying rifles, and firing into the air,” Marsh says in a written history. “Black men took positions on the roofs of their houses to protect their families and their churches while Klansmen rode down Pocatello Avenue and North 3rd.”
The completion of Bethel Baptist Church in 1922 helped solidify the Triangle Neighborhood as the city’s black community. The building at 401 North 5th Avenue still exists and is the oldest black congregation in town.
In the late 1970s, Marsh says the Triangle Neighborhood began to dissolve as many black families moved away. On Feb. 10, 1976, President Gerald Ford recognized February as Black History Month.
In 1983, the Idaho Legislature passed statute 18-7902, which prohibits malicious harassment based on racial or ethnic identity. That same year, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill designating the third Monday in January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
In January 2006, then Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne designated the same day Human Rights Day for residents of the Gem State.
Powell’s background
A recent interview with Powell on MSNBC is what led Snell to invite him to be the keynote speaker. In 2020, he and Jim Place started the Social Justice 7-on-7 high school football competition in Ohio.
The hall of fame coach says the program was a response to the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others.
“George Floyd really pushed it over the top. There were students talking about retaliation. We didn’t want that (to happen),” Powell says. “In hearing young people complain through their emotions, I realized many of them misunderstood facts about history and we knew we had to do something about it.”
Today, Powell says the camp encompasses eight different high schools throughout the Dayton, Ohio area and is currently the largest passing camp in Midwest Ohio. It’s on track to become the largest passing camp in the United States with expansion into the Cincinnati area this summer.
Powell says students from different schools have interacted in positive ways as a result of this camp. The coaches and speakers have played a significant role in changing the mood for the better.
“Private schools who (initially) wanted nothing to do with it because of the political ramifications … are now hosting it,” says Powell. “They all get together as young people and talk about some of the things that are uncomfortable.”
Although Powell has visited Idaho before, this will be his first time in Idaho Falls. His remarks at the banquet will focus on five pillars surrounding the topic of kindness. He says he’s excited to share it with those in attendance.
Snell is grateful for Powell’s willingness to speak.
Snell says he’s proud to call Idaho Falls his home and he appreciates the community’s support of the banquet every year.
“I love Idaho Falls and I’m excited to be a part of (this event),” he says.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Banquet will begin on Friday at 6 p.m. and go until 9:30 p.m. To learn more or buy tickets, click here.
