Birmingham Celebrates Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Hundreds of community members turned out to celebrate the life and achievements of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration breakfast this morning at The Community House.

According to public relations director Gigi Nichols, the event was sold out, with 250 people attending, 20 of those being students from Hillel Day School in Farmington Hills. Members of the community were seated with 10 per round table all eager to hear the speeches and music delivered at the celebration.

The breakfast opened with a welcome by Dwight Levens, co-convener of the Race Relations and Diversity Task Force, which put on the breakfast with North Oakland County Branch of the NAACP. As the Brazeal Dennard Chorale sang, attendees filled up on their spinach omelets, fruit and diced hashed browns. 

“I thought the Chorale was fabulous,” Nichols said.

The keynote speaker, Reverend Carlyle Fielding Stewart III, Pastor of Hope United Methodist Church in Southfield, gave an inspiring 40-minute long speech, followed by Meriel Parker of the NAACP offering up closing remarks. Stewart examined where we, as Americans, are today, how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go with civil rights and race relations . He addressed what everyone could do to make a difference, and what, in his opinion, King would be doing if he were around today.

"Friends, we've come a long way but we still have some distance to go," Stewart said.  "We are still on the road to freedom, justice and equality for all, but still have miles to travel."