In remarks that were both humble and inspiring, Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, N.J., issued a call to action to attendees at the sold-out Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast in downtown Minneapolis, Minn. Monday. 

“We must stand up because others stood for us,” said Booker, who was born a year after King was assassinated in 1968. “It’s our time now.”

The theme of the 2011 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast was “The Dream: Rejoice, Reclaim, Renew Community.”

As in previous years, the event was planned by a breakfast committee made up primarily of General Mills employees. General Mills has partnered with UNCF (the United Negro College Fund) to host the community breakfast since 1991.

During his breakfast remarks, Booker stressed the value of challenging oneself to grow, learn and improve, noting that “You can’t expect the world to change if you stay the same.”

Booker, elected Newark mayor in 2006, is a Rhodes Scholar who also attended Stanford University and Yale University Law School before  serving on the Newark City Council.

A community organizer, he has helped establish local legal centers and in 1999 staged a 10-day hunger strike to call attention to the need for improved housing and safer neighborhoods.

UNCF president also speaks

The breakfast also featured remarks from Dr. Michael Lomax, UNCF president and chief executive officer.

Lomax touched on the critical role education plays in living out Dr. King’s dream.

“Among the rights Dr. King fought for was the right to an education,” he said. “But his life was tragically cut short before he could lead us in the fight to afford the college education we needed, and the right to attend public schools that would prepare us to gain admission to and graduate from the colleges we had the legal right to attend. That battle he left for us.”

The breakfast also featured the presentation of the Local Legend and Emerging Legend community service awards. This year’s Emerging Legend winner is Brandon Hill, a senior at Eden Prairie High School.

The Local Legend winners are Father Kevin McDonough, pastor at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church and Sagrado Corazon de Jesus Catholic Church; and Andy Wells, owner and president of Wells Technology in Bemidji.

As in past years, the St. Paul Area Council of Churches hosted six simultaneous free breakfasts that allowed guests to watch the event on television. The breakfast was broadcast live on Twin Cities Public Television and will be rebroadcast on the statewide Minnesota channel several times in the coming days.   

   Inside General Mills