Minneapolis' Annual MLK Day Breakfast Hosts Civil Rights Leader
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – All across the country, thousands of people will celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday.
The Civil Rights Leader was killed in 1968, five years after giving his famous "I Have A Dream Speech."
This speech was given during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Dr. King would have turned 88-years-old Sunday.
In Minneapolis, more than 1,900 people came to the city's convention center, which hosted one of the largest holiday breakfasts in the country.
The 27th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast at the Minneapolis Convention Center featured keynote speaker Myrlie Evers-Williams, a civil rights activist, author and wife of murdered civil rights activist Medgar Evers. Evers was murdered by a white supremacist in 1963 and since then, Evers-Williams has worked tirelessly for racial equality.
The theme of this year's breakfast is based on the words of Dr. King: "The time is always right to do what is right."
Those words spoken more than five decades ago by King and Monday, they became the theme of the day.
"Dr. King kind of elevated beyond politics or policy, he was really about principles and values. And we felt that was appropriate at this point in time, in our country's history and in the Twin Cities," Vice Chair James Momon said.
Monday's event at the Convention Center is one of the largest in the country and comes at a time when many see our nation as divided, especially when it comes to politics.
"People who voted for different parties, they didn't get along especially right after the election. It's definitely settled down now, but there are definitely still some tensions up in the air," SPA Student Meley Akpa said.
Following the shooting deaths of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile, the past two years haven't been easy here in the Twin Cities.
Evers-Williams hopes healing can be found in Dr. King's message, especially for the youth in our community.
"They are looking for direction and let us not have one in this room, or in the communities from which you come, turn your back on the future of this country," Myrlie Evers-Williams said.
This is the first year the breakfast will serve as an official fundraiser for the local chapter of the United Negro College Fund, helping give four-year scholarships to low-income students in Minnesota.
For those who can't make it out to the breakfast in person, the keynote address was live-streamed at 8 a.m. online.
For more information about the holiday breakfast, visit MLK Breakfast online.