MLK breakfast at Colorado College celebrates civil rights leader’s life, legacy
Neither subzero temperatures nor wind-chill values in excess of minus-30 degrees were enough to keep about 500 Colorado Springs residents, leaders and professionals from attending the annual All People’s Breakfast at Colorado College on Monday.
More than 125 people participated in the post-breakfast Unity March, which typically proceeds from the CC grounds to Acacia Park. In deference to the frigid weather, event coordinators changed the destination to Cornerstone Art Center on campus.
The weather was severe enough to prompt a wind-chill warning from the National Weather Service in Pueblo, but event leaders felt a march — even in uncomfortable conditions — was a fitting way to celebrate the life and legacy of the slain civil rights leader on what would have been his 95th birthday.
“We know it’s a cold day,” said Shirley Martinez, president of the MLK Legacy Preservation Society. “But we feel that a march, however short, is important on this day.”
Deborah Anderson sings during the All People’s Breakfast and Unity March at Ed Robson Arena on the Colorado College campus Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, as part of the local Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
Held at CC’s Ed Robson Arena, the breakfast and social hour featured a special program that included musical selections from soprano singer (and Colorado Springs native) Deborah Anderson and national recording artist Tony Exum Jr.
“This is a great day to engage in thought-provoking dialogue over sharing a meal,” said Earl Schaffer Jr., vice president of the MLK Legacy Preservation Society. “When we can do that, we notice that we are more alike than different in several ways.”
The theme of the breakfast was “Shifting the Cultural Climate Through the Study and Practice of Kingian Non-Violence,” highlighting King’s principle of nonviolent resistance. But Martinez pointed out that there’s a stark difference between nonviolence and passivity.
“Dr. King was nonviolent, but not afraid,” she said. “He wasn’t afraid to confront injustice or oppression in any form.”
Michelle Wills-Hill, president of Harrison School District 2 Board of Education, brought her young daughter to the event.
“Each generation is tasked with making things a little better than the one before,” Wills-Hill said. “That’s why I thought it was important to bring my daughter today. My hope is that her generation will carry us a little further forward.”
“It’s an impactful day, a day to celebrate, but also to acknowledge the work that still needs to be done.”
In keeping with the day’s theme, guest speaker Pastor Benjamin Anderson Jr. outlined the six principles of King’s philosophy of nonviolence: It requires courage; its end goal is friendship and understanding; the point is to defeat injustice, not people; it includes a willingness to accept suffering without retaliation; it’s a choice of love over hate; and it requires a faith that, in the end, justice will prevail.
To these, Anderson added a seventh principle: servanthood.
“It’s a concept that refers to a humble and selfless approach to serving and assisting others, often without expecting personal gain or recognition,” Anderson said. “It is grounded in the idea of being of service to others … and acting with a sense of duty or responsibility towards them.
Despite a highly charged, sometimes contentious political climate in Colorado Springs and across the U.S., Schaffer said he is encouraged by much of what he sees in the city, including Colorado Springs’ first elected Black mayor, Yemi Mobolade.
“Progress starts at the top,” Schaffer said. “We are slowly beginning to see diversity, equity and inclusion within levels of government and administration.”
Still, he said, there is much to be done to achieve King’s ambitious vision for a “beloved community.”
“We are not there yet,” Schaffer said. “We still have a lot more work to do, and it starts with each and every one of us.”
Martinez said that although attendance was a little lower than usual, she was pleased with the turnout.
“We thought that, with the weather, we would get about 300 people. So we were pleasantly surprised. The weather was difficult, but it was a great day to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy.”
Members of the Girl Scout Troop 45275 in Colorado Springs fight the frigid temperatures Monday morning, Jan. 15, 2024, as they wait to lead the Unity March from the All People’s Breakfast at Colorado College’s Ed Robson Arena to the Cornerstone Arts Center a block away for more of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. The original plan was to march from the breakfast at the arena down Tejon Street to Acacia Park. The march was shorten for safety as temperatures hovered around zero Monday. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
About 500 Colorado Springs residents and leaders braved subzero conditions on Monday to attend the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day All Peoples’ Breakfast.
