A diverse crowd of +2000 diverse Jaxons celebrated the early life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr at the 38th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast. The event was held inside the Prime F. Osborne Civic Center and included song, poetry, visual art and analysis of King’s early life from New York Times best selling and Pulitzer Prize winning biographer Johnathan Eig, who wrote, “King A Life.”
King’s “dream” demanded that America “make real promises of democracy,” His biographer Eig said.
The program included Isaiah Oliver, president of the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida engaging with Eig about Dr. King’s life in a fireside chat. Musical selections, words from Mayor Donna Deegam and an introduction of “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, by local trailblazer and author Rodney Hurst. Scholarships were presented to outstanding youth against a backdrop of historical highlights shared by NAACP President Isaiah Rumlin,
One of this years winners, Kynlei Gibbs, 14, (Riverside High School), dreams of becoming a lawyer because shes passionate about ensuring people have access to equality and justice.
In her winning poem, “What happens Next,” Kynlei alludes to children killed in Palestine, Southern Lynchings and how lies lead people to believe her brown skin is a threat.
“All it takes is one individual to make something right,” she wrote.
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