Save the Date! MLCommUNITY Breakfast and Celebration Rescheduled to April 30, 2022!

Kennett Square, January 21, 2022.  The Board of Directors of the MLKCommUNITY of Greater Kennett Area is pleased to announce that the beloved 21st Annual MLK Breakfast and Celebration will be held on Saturday, April 30, 2022, at Lincoln University. The difficult decision was made to postpone the originally scheduled program on MLK Day,  January 17, 2022, due to the outbreak of the omicron variant of Covid-19.  

A great program will be even greater on April 30!  Check back for the start time and details.  Registration has been reopened. All tickets and sponsorships previously purchased will be honored. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us. 

The Martin Luther King CommUNITY of the Greater Kennett Area invites everyone to attend this  year's event honoring the life and legacy of Dr. King on Saturday, April 30, 2022.  The theme for  2022 MLK Celebration is "The Fierce Urgency of Now." The theme is taken from Dr. King's famous speech at the 1963 March on Washington and elsewhere when he spoke of “the fierce urgency of now” for immediate “vigorous and positive action” on civil rights. He reminded a divided nation that we need one another, and that we are stronger when we march forward, together. “We cannot walk alone,” he said. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back.” A half century later, Dr. King’s words have renewed meaning.

2022 MLK Celebration will  begin with the 21st Annual MLKCommUNITY Breakfast followed by presentations and workshops on the campus of historic Lincoln University in southern Chester County, PA. The MLK CommUNITY Choir and the Lincoln University Concert Choir, directed by Dr. Camilla Horne, will combine to perform special selections in honor of Dr. King.  A full breakfast will be served. 

Provided that health, safety and best practices allow, all events will be held in the spacious Wellness Center and masks and proof of vaccination will be required upon arrival at the Center.  The breakfast program will also be livestreamed via Zoom.

Our keynote speaker for the Breakfast will be distinguished sociologist, Dr. Elijah Anderson.  He is the Sterling Professor of Sociology and of African American Studies at Yale University and is considered by his peers as a prolific and ground-breaking ethnographer of urban life. He is the author of the classic sociological work, “A Place on the Corner: A Study of Black Street Corner Men” (1978; 2nd edition 2003). His publication, “Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City,” (1999) won the Komarovsky Award from the Eastern Sociological Society and “Streetwise: Race, Class, and Change in an Urban Community”(1990) was recognized with the American Sociological Association’s Robert E. Park Award for the best published book in the area of Urban Sociology.

Before joining the Yale faculty in July 2007, Dr. Anderson served for many years as the Charles and William L. Day Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, with a secondary appointment in the Wharton School. There, influenced by the earlier study of  The Philadelphia Negro by African-American philosophical thinker and sociologist, W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. Anderson would go on to further the work of DuBois by writing about Black urban life in Philadelphia, through his publications, Code of the Street and The Study of African-American Problems: W. E. B. Dubois’s America then and Now.

Dr. Anderson's newest book, Black in White Space: The Enduring Impact of Color in Everyday Life (release date January 18, 2022), sheds fresh light on the dire persistence of racial discrimination in our country. He received his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, his master’s from the University of Chicago and his doctorate from Northwestern University, where he was a Ford Foundation Fellow.

Workshops and Presentations

Following the Breakfast, guests will have the opportunity to participate in a range of presentation formats including Dialogue with the Keynote Speaker, Presentation by Kennett Underground Railroad Center, film and discussion ("Walking While Black"), performance arts, and strategy session, ("Creative Extremism for the Cause of Justice”).  Please check back for more information about the worshops.  

Registration/Tickets

Click the green ticket to register for the 2022 MLK Day celebration and indicate your interest in a workshop or presentation. Ticket cost is $30.00 for adults and $10 for students.  Register before December 17 and tickets are $25 for adults and $5 for students. We look forward to seeing you on Monday, January 17, 2022, for this inspiring community celebration!

Change for Change

There are many in our CommUNITY who are hungry. If you are able, please  donate to our "Change for Change" campaign for the benefit of the Kennett Food Cupboard and the Avon-Grove Bridge Food Pantry.  Join with us in eradicating hunger in our community.

About MLKCommUNITY 

Proceeds of the Breakfast benefit scholarships for graduating seniors at Kennett, Unionville and Avon Grove High Schools and Lincoln University, summer opportunities for disadvantaged children at Camp Cadet, MLK Advocates Forums, and support for projects that promote equality, justice, peace and the eradication of poverty in the Kennett Square area. 

The mission of the Martin Luther King, Jr., CommUNITY is to revitalize in our community Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's dream of peace and harmony among all people. It is our vision to create a beloved community in Greater Southern Chester County that provides opportunities for fellowship, service, justice and the eradication of poverty.  Our MLK Advocates, committed to building and promoting relationships based on equality, justice and peace,  conduct community awareness forums for cross-racial, cross-cultural dialogues and interactions, intervening where necesary to resolve conflict and ensure that the voices of the excluded and marginalized are heard. 

Donations and Sponsorships Invited

MLK CommUNITY is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt, non-profit organization. Please click the donate button on the left if you wish to make a one-time gift in support of our efforts.  Sponsorship is welcome and various levels of support are available by clicking the "Sponsorship Opportunities" box on the left. 

Applications for Martin Luther King Jr. CommUNITY Scholarship due April 15, 2022.

Graduating seniors at Avon-Grove, Kennett and Unionville high schools and Lincoln University are invited to apply for two $1,000 scholarships that will be awarded at each school. The scholarships will be awarded to deserving students, regardless of race or ethnicity, who promote the principles of Dr. King by their demonstrated commitment to school, community, family and faith.  Click here to download and complete the application and guidelines.

If you have difficulty purchasing your tickets, you may obtain help by calling 610-274-2133 or 215-820-1164