The Chesapeake Martin Luther King Leadership Breakfast

Tickets: Regular ~ $25; Friend ~ $35; Partner ~ $50
On sale at Harvest Company Bookstore
109 Volvo Pkwy., Chesapeake

The MLK Leadership Breakfast was founded by Bishop and Mrs. Jackson in January 2000 as a project of Exodus Faith Ministries to bring people together across racial and cultural lines. Each year we honor leaders who are making a contribution to the quality of life in Chesapeake and the surrounding area. The first keynote speaker for the breakfast was the niece of Dr. King himself, Dr. Alveda King. The 2007 Keynote Speaker was Cassandra Chandler, first black woman to serve as Assistant Director of the FBI and Special Agent in Charge of the Norfolk Regional Office.

The Breakfast has honored people from all racial backgrounds. “We don’t view this as an event for black people, but for all people,” Says Bishop Jackson. Each year the Chesapeake MLK Breakfast honors leaders from the business community, education, government, ministry, and police and firefighters. “We are particularly proud of what we do for Police and Firefighters each year. When 9-1-1 happened, many realized for the first time what heroes we have in our police and firefighters. They run toward the danger the rest of us run from. We want people to remember this, not just when there is some tragedy, but all the time.”

The first Breakfast had a few more than 100 people in attendance. The most recent Breakfast had nearly 500 people attending. It is supported by local and regional businesses. Priority Automotive, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, WYRM Radio, Dominion Power, Jo-Kell, Food Lion Supermarket, Freedom Lincoln Mercury and Victory Nissan are Honorary Committee members. A host of businesses also support the event by advertising in the Program Book and purchasing reserve tables.

Chesapeake public officials are very supportive of the effort to foster unity. The Mayor is the Honorary Chairman. City Councilors, School Board members and the Chiefs of the Police and Fire Departments serve on the Honorary Committee as well.

There is also singing by Janeene Bland, one of Hampton Roads gifted vocalists, dancing by Youth With A Destiny, and the Presentation of the Flag by the Oscar Smith High School ROTC Color Guard. It is truly a community event.

If you are anywhere in the Hampton Roads area, you don’t want to miss the Chesapeake MLK Leadership Breakfast. It is hailed by all who have attended as an inspiring and uplifting event they look forward to all year.