The Arc Toward Justice:
Unfinished Business

The 51st Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast
January 18, 2021 | 11 a.m.

in partnership with:

The MLK Memorial Breakfast Committee partnered with Northeastern University to reimagine the breakfast as a virtual event that included a multifaceted, passion-filled celebratory program, and an extended program of virtual rallies and teach-ins. 

This event will appeal beyond Massachusetts to a global audience, who will celebrate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy of social justice under this year’s theme, the Arc Toward Justice: Unfinished Business. This theme is supported by three pillars to galvanize attendees to action.

Socioeconomic justice

Political action aligned with Dr. King’s vision

Civic
engagement

Awards

This year’s Drum Major Awards will be presented to Rosie’s Place, the Greater Boston Food Bank, and  Rob “Problak” Gibbs for exemplary community service. 

The virtual breakfast will be followed by interactive teach-ins and virtual rallies. The teach-ins are interactive 75-minute lectures and discussions on contemporary social and political issues. The teach-in facilitators are leaders from the Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign, the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, and the Movement for Black Lives.  

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast was founded and hosted by St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church and Union United Methodist Church. Net proceeds from the MLK Memorial Breakfast support the community programs and services at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church and Union United Methodist Church.  The event brings together business, civic, community, and religious leaders, as well as advocates from educational and community organizations. 

Speakers

Joseph E. Aoun

President of Northeastern University

Kimberly Atkins

Boston Globe senior opinion writer

Rev. Dr. William Barber

Pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign

Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar

Resident Bishop of New England Conference of the United Methodist Church

Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates

Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts

The Honorable Maura Healey

Massachusetts Attorney General

Segun Idowu

Executive Director, Black Economic Council of Massachusetts

Kim Janey

Boston City Council President

The Honorable Ed Markey

U.S. Senator for Massachusetts

Dr. J. Keith Motley

President & CEO Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts

The Honorable Ayanna Pressley

U.S. Representative for Massachusetts’ 7th congressional district

Dr. Edward T. Rewolinski

St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church, Committee Co-Chair

The Honorable Rachael Rollins

District Attorney of Suffolk County

Cleveland Sellers

President Emeritus of Voorhees College and former leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

The Honorable Elizabeth Warren

U.S. Senator for Massachusetts

Rev. Dr. Jay Williams

Pastor of the Union United Methodist Church, Committee Co-Chair

Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsor

Bronze Sponsors

Supporting Sponsors

Thank you for joining us at the 51st Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast

St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church
1073 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02120
Tel: (617) 427-6175

Union United Methodist Church
485 Columbus Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
Tel: (617) 536-0872

Scholarships

DEADLINE
December 31, 2020.

The MLK Memorial Breakfast Committee strives to promote the work of Dr. King and one such way is to provide scholarships to deserving students. The Committee will award four (4) $2,500 scholarships. We encourage the participation of interested seniors at the following three Boston Public High Schools:

  • Jeremiah E. Burke High School
  • John D. O’Bryant School for Mathematics and Science
  • Madison Park Technology and Vocational High School

These scholarships are open to all seniors (twelfth-graders who are scheduled to graduate in June 2021). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to make a number of changes to our event, to allow this annual celebration of the life and work of Dr. King to go forward while keeping everyone safe. Regarding the scholarships, we are making the following changes:

We have upgraded our website, creating a scholarship portal to enable us to distribute the scholarship applications. Access to our website scholarship portal will be sent to you in the near-term, once the portal is available. We will also contact you to address any questions and to ensure that you can access the website portal.

This portal will also be the means for students to submit their applications, and for us to communicate with school counselors and with the scholarship applicants.

MLK Scholarship Requirements

Below are the general requirements to apply for MLK Breakfast scholarships. Each application will be reviewed and ranked by the MLK Breakfast Committee. Students must meet the academic requirements, and provide both a personal statement and an essay addressing the question noted below.

The deadline for scholarship application submission is December 31, 2020. All applications must be sent via email to the MLK Breakfast Committee at this address: Info@bostonmlkbreakfast.org

Academic requirements:
Applicants must have a grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or higher. The GPA should be based on grades through November 1, 2020. Applicants must be on track to graduate high school in June 2021.

Personal Statement:
Please provide a 1,000-word personal statement (no longer than two pages) about yourself, including extracurricular activities that you are participating in. Extracurriculars may include after-school clubs, sports, church and community activities, part-time jobs, and household responsibilities. In short, your personal statement should tell us about yourself and your career goals.

Essay:
Please write a 1,500-word essay (no longer than three pages) addressing the following question: Throughout the year 2020, the need to end racial injustice has been a key issue throughout our nation. Are there effective lessons and strategies from the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s that could be used today, or do we need new answers, tactics, and strategies?

Sponsorship Opportunities

We invite you to join us as a sponsor for the 2021 MLK Memorial Breakfast. Sponsorship levels begin at $2,500 and provide a variety of opportunities for participating organizations. Sponsorship benefits include media exposure and community relations benefits commensurate with your level of sponsorship. Funds will both offset operating costs and enable the MLK Breakfast Committee to award scholarships to students in inner-city Boston and support missionary work in vulnerable communities.

Sponsorship levels offer a range of benefits, including:

Thank you in advance for your commitment and support of this year’s MLK Breakfast. If you have any questions, please contact the MLK Memorial Breakfast Committee at: Info@bostonmlkbreakfast.org.

Should you feel inspired to make a sponsor-level donation, please send your donation by January 5 to the following address:


Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast Committee, Inc.
c/o Mrs. Rudelle Fenty, Treasurer
1073 Tremont St.
Boston, MA 02120

Awards

Named for Dr. King’s renowned Drum Major sermon, the Drum Major Award recognizes individuals and organizations that exemplify King’s legacy of service and dedication to social justice. This year’s awardees are organizations who have persevered through the novel pandemic to sustain the Boston community. 

  • Rosie’s Place 
    Founded in 1974, Rosie’s Place provides  The organization not only provides meals and shelter but also creates answers for 12,000 women a year through wide-ranging support, housing and education services. 
    Learn more

  • Greater Boston Food Bank
    The largest food bank in New England, the Greater Boston Food Bank acted swiftly to meet the challenges of 2020. As food insecurity ballooned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, GBFB nearly doubled its distribution during the pandemic. The organization remained steadfast in its mission of providing healthy food to anyone in need and ending hunger across eastern Massachusetts. 
    Learn more

  • Rob “ProBlak” Gibbs is a visual artist and community organizer who has transformed the cultural landscape of Boston through graffiti art since 1991. For ProBlak, graffiti acts as a way to document and pay homage to underserved communities. His vision, to beautify the predominantly black and brown communities of Boston, is a driving force behind his artistic practice.  
    Learn more