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11/20/2024 09:09 AMPress Release, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Heritage Foundation
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. Jeffrey C. Stewart will be the guest speaker at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Heritage Foundation’s 40th annual MLK Day Breakfast on Jan. 20, 2025 at Branford High School.
A professor of Black Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara, Dr. Stewart will discuss “Nonviolence: Now More than Ever,” centering on Dr. King’s commitment to peaceful protest.
It’s a particularly poignant topic given the fractures in our society, said MLK Heritage Foundation President Mary Fitz-Perry.
“The last many years, we’ve seen an increase in anger and hostility, and sometimes it feels like we’re going backward instead of forward,” said Fitz-Perry. “We need to remember that political issues are just that – political – and at end of day, we are family, neighbors, community, and should embrace each other more, not less.”
Tickets to hear Dr. Stewart, who won both the Pulitzer and National Book Award for his biography of Harlem Renaissance writer Alain Locke, are $20, and include a full breakfast. Student tickets are just $5. Tickets are available now this eventgroove.com link (or search eventgrove.com events for 2025-Mlk-Breakfast-Jeffrey-C-Stewart-103201).
The event, which begins at 8:30 a.m., will be moderated by Keith Kountz of News Channel 8. The breakfast is prepared by the BHS Culinary Arts Program, with music by the BHS Music Makers. Proceeds from the breakfast provide scholarships for BHS students who embody the spirit of Dr. King.
“We are thrilled to partner with the MLK Heritage Foundation for the annual breakfast, which is a powerful reminder of the strength of unity and the importance of leading with dignity and purpose,” said Branford Public Schools Superintendent Christopher Tranberg. “We are especially proud of our talented culinary and music students, whose contributions showcase the creativity, dedication, and passion that represents our students so well.”
Held since 1985, the MLK Day Breakfast annually attracts packed houses, and has featured an inspiring array of speakers, such as famed teacher and anti-racism firebrand Jane Elliott, author Chris Wilson, New Haven mayor Toni Harp, and State Sen. Ted Kennedy. Based in Branford, the MLK Heritage Foundation’s other programs include “Meals for the Mind,” a groundbreaking new series of bi-monthly evenings where a small group of people from different backgrounds - whether cultural, racial, ideological, or generational – share a meal, talk, and simply get to know each other.
For more information on the MLK Heritage Foundation, find MLKHeritageFoundation on Facebook or email MLKheritage5@gmail.com. The 2025 MLK Day Breakfast is sponsored by Branford Public Schools, the Branford Rotary Club, Branford Community Foundation, Guilford Savings Bank, St. Stephens AME Zion Church, the First Congregational Church of Branford, and Trinity Episcopal Church.