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12/16/2022 04:02 PMPress Release, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Heritage Foundation
Celebrate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 16, 8:30 a.m on Zoom, with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Heritage Foundation. Based in Branford, the Foundation has hosted inspiring speakers as author Chris Wilson, teacher and ant-racism firebrand Jane Elliott, and this year the speaker will be Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery, the first Black American woman to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
She will discuss “Learning to Live Together…” with Keith Kountz, of News Channel 8, who will serve as moderator. There will be musical performances by St. Stephens AME Zion Church of Branford and the Branford High School MusicMakers.
Tickets to attend are $15 ($5 for students with I.D.) and can be purchased by visiting Facebook.com/MLKBreakfastCommittee, or email MLKHeritageFoundation@gmail.com. Proceeds from the event provide scholarships for Black, brown and Indigenous high school graduates, and current college students in need. The Foundation also supports organizations that help the community, including Branford Counseling and Community Services, the Community Dining Room, Feed Branford Kids, and the Energy Assistance Program.
Attorney Avery grew up in the Newhallville section of New Haven, in a family who supported her interests whether social, physical or educational. And, as she says: “Countless teachers encouraged and pushed me to take advantage of the educational opportunities.”
She took part in many enrichment programs including two summer scholarship programs offered by Choate Rosemary Hall, one at Wesleyan University, and many more in middle and high school at Yale University. While a student at Yale, one of her great pleasures was to teach New Haven’s youth in the very same Ulysses S. Grant program she had enjoyed. She entered law school at Georgetown Law Center thinking she might go into teaching but found herself falling in love with litigation.
Attorney Avery’s work experience includes private practice, the state’s Attorney General’s office, and the federal district court office which she now leads. Ms Avery is the 54th US Attorney for the District of Connecticut, one of the oldest in the country established in 1789; the first Attorney was appointed by President George Washington.
At the CT District Office she oversees both civil and criminal cases, and thinks about law enforcement as a collaboration with the community, a means of upholding the rule of law, both constitutional and federal; safeguarding civil rights and equal access to education, and protecting public safety working with state and local partners in engagement with the community. The number one job of her office is to do justice.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Heritage Foundation is a registered 501-c-3 charitable organization. To be added to the list of sponsors including St. Stephens AME Zion Church of Branford, Branford Rotary, First Congregational Church of Branford and Guilford Savings Bank/Branford Community Foundation, please write MLK Heritage Foundation at Box 3335, Branford, CT 06405, or email: MLKheritagefoundation@gmail.com The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Heritage Foundation advocates for social justice and promotes equality, integrity, and respect for all people.