Minnesotans remembered the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as they gathered around breakfast tables on Jan 18.

For 26 years, the MLK Breakfast in Minneapolis has featured speakers who reinforce the messages of Dr. King.

This year, the city of Marshall held its first MLK Breakfast and Day of Service in the SMSU ballroom, which telecast the Minneapolis event.

Cassie Williams, a graduate student at SMSU, helped to organize the breakfast. Williams explained that holding an event in acknowledgement of the MLK holiday had been discussed in the past.

Jay Lee, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, and Jeff Kolnick, professor of history, previously brought up the idea, but it lacked the support of the community.

“Once they had the support from the community and the administration, they felt that this would be a good opportunity,” Williams said. “Jay [Lee] spoke to me about the idea of having a MLK breakfast on campus and asked me if I could execute the planning process and the rest was history.”

Sandy Nelson, retired coordinator of International Student Services, arrived to show her support at the breakfast. During her 25 years at SMSU, she enjoyed helping transfer students become acclimated to life in Marshall. Nelson was happy to see such a large turnout of community members around the breakfast tables.

“More communities should have events like this,” Nelson said.

As breakfast plates were cleared, singer Kimberly Brown, of the musical group “Sounds of Blackness,” performed the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Brown was active in the MLK events and previously held a concert at the Schwan Community Center for the Performing Arts at the Marshall High School on Friday, Jan. 15.

Following Brown’s performance, attention turned to the General Mills Foundation and United Negro College Fund-sponsored broadcast from the Minneapolis Convention Center, where former Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick gave the keynote speech.

Patrick urged listeners to be aware of how they treat one another.

“I don’t want unrest in the streets, but I do want unrest in our hearts and our minds,” Patrick said.

Following the broadcast, a panel discussion featuring SMSU and Marshall Community leaders was held. SMSU Provost Dr. Dwight C. Watson moderated the discussion and asked panel members about memorable parts of the broadcast and how to apply them to the Marshall community.

SMSU President Dr. Connie Gores emphasized in the discussion the four timeless values of freedom, equality, opportunity, and fair play. Christine Olson, professor of psychology, described what a good citizen embodied, which includes a “willingness to make ourselves uncomfortable.”

Breakfast attendees were also invited to participate in the discussion by answering at their tables how we can keep Dr. King’s message alive.

The event concluded with an acknowledgement by Provost Watson of those who made the event possible.

As for Williams, she is hopeful that the MLK breakfast will become a tradition.

“We definitely want to turn this into an annual event,” Williams said. “If we continue to have support we can make it happen.”