It was, as the the Rev. William H. Copeland Jr., often said, “a delicious hour.”

Saturday, the Kankakee County Museum unveiled an exhibit in its main entrance hall honoring the life and legacy of Rev. Copeland, a longtime leader for civil rights in Kankakee County and the pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church in Kankakee for 36 years. The Rev. Copeland died in 2023 at age 90.

The exhibit will remain at the museum, 810 S. Eighth Ave., Kankakee, in its entirety through the end of February for Black History Month. After that, some pieces will become part of the museum’s permanent Black History display.

More than 120 people attended the opening. Several speakers, including Copeland’s son and daughter, along with church members and ministers, paid tribute.

The Rev. K. Edward Copeland, his son and pastor of New Zion Baptist Church, Rockford, explained that his father had been only two generations removed from slavery.

His grandfather William, who had been born in 1852, was forced to sleep under the house and yet lived to be a robust 110 years old.

Rev. Copeland, the youngest of 14 children, spent much time learning from his grandfather.

“His soul was not bitter,” Edward said of his father. His father had a passion for both civil rights and for the church.

“If you love justice, you will love the ministry,” Edward quoted his father as saying.

Monica Fountain, the Rev. Copeland’s daughter, told the audience that the exhibit was meaningful.

“They don’t know if we don’t tell them,” she said of the next generation.

As a career journalist, she noted that the “why” of this story was important. “If a race has no history, it is negligible,” she said. “Our story is really America’s story.”

This is, she said, a “precarious time” in America.

Billie Burrell paid tribute to the Rev. Copeland as a civil rights leader. He was a man whose leadership shaped the community, she said.

When Rev. Copeland moved to Kankakee in 1972, one of his first acts was to inspire the local NAACP chapter.

Burrell quoted him as saying that the NAACP was not just an organization that you join, but “a responsibility you carry.”

Lasting legacy

The Rev. Howard Wills, pastor emeritus of Greater New Hope Baptist Church, said Rev. Copeland told him that if you are going to preach, you have to preach beyond the pulpit.

“He was never concerned about himself,” he said of Copeland. “He was always concerned about others.”

He added that Rev. Copeland not only preached faith, he also lived and walked faith.

The Rev. Thomas Ervin, minister at Morning Star, noted that Rev. Copeland had motivated many future ministers. “He was a strong acorn who produced many strong oaks.”

Rickey Tucker, a 39-year member at Morning Star, said the Rev. Copeland was a father figure and mentor for him. For Rev. Copeland, he said, love was an action word.

The invocation was given by the Rev. Montele Crawford, current pastor at Morning Star.

Musical selections were provided by Addie Wallace, a choir member and 40-year parishioner at Morning Star.

Leola Copeland, the Rev. Copeland’s widow, received a standing ovation from the assembly. The pair married June 2, 1956. They were married for 67 years before Copeland’s passing in 2023.

Items on display included photos of the Rev. Copeland with Barack Obama, photos with entertainer and civil rights leader Harry Belafonte and a picture with famed attorney Johnnie Cochran.

‘Called to Kankakee’

The exhibit, titled “Called to Kankakee,” included many items from the Rev. Copeland’s ministry here, including a pulpit from Morning Star, his personal Bible, his church robes and collections of his sermons on tapes, CDs and a large 33 LP album. By using a QR code, you can listen to the reverend’s dynamic message and delivery.

His many awards shown include the Key to the City of Kankakee, Man of the Year from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation, Life Membership in the NAACP and a Founders Award from Operation PUSH.

The Rev. Copeland told his life story to his daughter, Monica Fountain. The resulting book, “The Lord Will Provide: The Life and Times of Rev. William H., Copeland Jr.,” is on sale for $20 at the Kankakee County Museum.

Funds raised go to scholarships. Now in its third year, the fund has awarded scholarships to Kankakee County residents and students Lunden Brown and Myah Crawford.

The Kankakee County Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $3.