Organizers Hope Unity Breakfast Will Spread Message of Forgiveness

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Cherokee County’s long-running annual event paying tribute to the work of a civil rights legend will return in early 2016.

The 18th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Breakfast, organized by Allen Temple AME Church in Woodstock, will take place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, at the Northside-Cherokee Conference Center in Canton.

This year’s keynote speaker will be Doug Hooker, the first black executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission.

Ebony Steele, national TV and radio host, will serve as the 2016 mistress of ceremonies. This year’s theme is The Power of Forgiveness.

When selecting this year’s theme, the committee considered many factors currently affecting our society: the impact of social media; racial and ethnic relations; police brutality against black men, women and children; bullying and suicide among children; school shootings; gun violence; and the political environment.

Yet our theme reflects the sentiments of the surviving teenage children of a woman tragically shot and killed with eight others, while sitting in a Charleston, South Carolina, church. It is a powerful message and appropriate for our times.

The full theme, “The Power of Forgiveness – A Christian Weapon Against Social Evil,” will also be introduced to high school senior applicants as this year’s essay topic for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship, also sponsored by Allen Temple AME Church.

The breakfast recognizes the legacy of one of America’s greatest civil rights icons and draws approximately 500 residents from all racial, political, social and religious backgrounds to promote unity among the citizens of the county.

Cherokee County Schools, community groups and businesses will participate, and county officials and community leaders are also set to attend. Guests enjoy a complimentary full breakfast as well as dynamic speakers, musical groups and other performances.

The event is capped by highlighting the MLK Scholarship Fundraiser and presentation of the MLK Unity Award. The award, established in 1999 by the Rev. Carl A. Moore, Sr. of Allen Temple AME Church, recognizes the contributions of an individual who has made a positive impact on the community by fostering harmonious racial and cultural relations.

New this year is the CommUNITY Service Project called Serve 2 for Cherokee County.

The family of Dr. King often reminds us that the MLK Holiday is “a day on, not a day off.” With that thought in mind, the MLK Unity Breakfast Committee has created year-long service opportunities which will positively impact the residents of Cherokee County.

Volunteers will be asked to serve a minimum of two hours at various agencies and non-profit organizations throughout Cherokee County.

This initiative is currently underway and will be announced to the community at large during the MLK Unity Breakfast. To date, organizers are working with Forever Fed, The Salvation Army, MUST Ministries, with many more opportunities in the works.

You can download a nomination form for the UNITY award on Allen Temple AME’s website.

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Image via Shutterstock