Martin Luther King’s vision shared at Unity Breakfast
Students from Fairfield High Preparatory School were among those participating in the annual Unity Breakfast. (John Herr/Alabama NewsCenter)
Legs that once marched from Selma to Montgomery walked beside strollers carrying the future.
People of all ages joined together Monday for the 30th annual Unity Breakfast in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and holiday.
The event in Birmingham attracted hundreds eager to hear from the city’s civic, economic and spiritual leaders about honoring King’s legacy of positive, peaceful change while tackling the challenges that remain.
“Rather than a keynote speech, (I want) to engage Birmingham’s young professionals in a conversation about their dreams and their values,” said keynote speaker Andrea L. Taylor, president and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. She invited a panel of young Birmingham professionals to share their visions of an opportunity-filled future.
Birmingham Mayor William A. Bell Sr. spoke about reincorporating into society those caught up in the criminal justice system.
“I’m hoping that as we come together in unity on this day of thanks to Dr. King, we will truly live up to his words and give individuals a second chance to be successful in life,” he said.
“Dr. King devoted his life to service,” said Johnathan F. Austin, president of the Birmingham City Council. “Like Dr. King, I believe that acts of service to others are the great equalizer.
“So what better way to honor Dr. King’s legacy than by coming together to lend a helping hand to our neighbors?” he added.
The theme of the 2016 Unity Breakfast was “Beyond Poverty.” Speakers noted that King fought not just to end discrimination but to lift communities out of despair.
“Dr. King knew all too well how war and other issues can relegate poverty to the sideline,” said Alana Bennett of Jackson-Olin High School, as she read aloud her winning Unity Breakfast student essay. “Dr. King believed poverty to be a pertinent issue that must be attended to in order to advance equity in the entire nation.”
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Several attendees shared their own thoughts on continuing King’s legacy.
“We need to instill in our kids the need for a good, quality education,” said Reggie Lewis. “I would also like to see more African-American businesses out there. That’s one of the best ways to fight unemployment.”
“Crime, especially in the black community” must be addressed, said his friend Silas Drinkard, a self-described “local missionary.”
“People have got to be able to thrive before they can learn,” said Matilda Merriweather of the Birmingham alumni chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. “So this theme [of poverty] has shed light on some of the needs in our city.”
Charles Willis, former mayor of Fairfield, said he was encouraged by the many young people who attended.
“What this breakfast means to them, it also means to the older people as well,” said Willis. “It means everything in the world to me.”
