MLK Memorial Breakfast Reimagined
Online-Only Breakfast on January 17th; Two New Virtual Events honoring King’s legacy
“From Resistance to Representation: Black Women Proving the Dream
The 52nd Annual Martin Luther King Memorial Breakfast on Monday, January 17th will be a live, online-only event. Despite plans to host a hybrid event (virtual and in-person at the Boston Convention Center), the recent surge in coronavirus due to the highly transmissible omicron variant, which is expected to peak over MLK weekend, necessitates this move to an online-only gathering. As the “beloved community” we must care for one another. The nation’s oldest commemoration and Boston’s premiere event will be live on Zoom. We are inviting the beloved community to gather online and have breakfast together—from the safety of our own homes.
We are re-imagining the annual breakfast as a THREE-PART CELEBRATION:
1. January 17th (9am) Online Breakfast, featuring keynote speaker, Professor Annette Gordon-Reed,
author of Pulitzer Prize-winning On Juneteenth (2021). Boston Globe senior opinion editor Kimberly
Atkins Stohr will preside.
» You’re invited to have your breakfast ready and cameras on! We’ll celebrate the “love feast” – a
communal meal shared among the faithful. Please register now at bostonmlkbreakfast.org in
order to receive the Zoom log-in information.
» Breakfast attendees will also enjoy musical interludes and performances from the Berklee Institute
for Jazz and Gender Justice and an inspirational rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by “Sweet
Lamb,” Lauren Britt.
2. March 15th (6-8pm) Women’s History Month Roundtable, celebrating female leadership in the civil
rights movement, with a tribute from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren.
» Panelists include Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, U.S. District Attorney Rachael Rollins, State
Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, State Representative Liz Miranda, and Councilwoman Julia Mejia.
3. April 4th (6-8pm)Award Ceremony, honoring “Drum Majors for Justice” and scholarship recipients. The
ceremony will be headlined by Senator Ed Markey and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy.
» Drum Major Awards will be presented to accomplished women and organizations that empower
women, including Sarah Ann Shaw, Judge Margaret Burnham, and Chastity Bowick, Women’s
Lunch Place, the Caribbean Foundation of Boston, and the Transgender Emergency Fund of
Massachusetts.
» Scholarship Awards will also be presented to students at participating Madison Park, Burke,
and O’Bryant high schools, Orchard Gardens K-8 School, and Roxbury Community College.