The Rev. Kendall Wright will be the keynote speaker at the 26th Annual Rev. Martin Luther King Day Breakfast Jan. 16.
An Ohio-based conference speaker and facilitator who led a race relations conference here seven years ago will be the keynote speaker at the 26th Annual Rev. Martin Luther King Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 16 at The Commons.
The Rev. Kendall C. Wright boasts an online bio that includes information that he “has coached, instructed and empowered tens of thousands of leaders in classrooms, churches and corporate boardrooms … and facilitated more than 5,000 workshops, seminars and presentations across the continental U.S., Canada, the UK, Japan, China, India, Korea, Singapore, and Puerto Rico.”
This event annually has attracted about 300 people or more, including leaders from the corporate, business, faith, education, law enforcement, and nonprofit communities.
Wright spoke here on Aug. 14, 2015.
“Racism is not an issue of the heart,” Wright said. “It’s an issue of the head.”
Even the most accepting person is socially conditioned to have some fear toward people of a different race, Wright said during his presentation.
Besides Wright’s speech and free breakfast, organizers with the local African American Pastors Alliance will award $1,000 scholarships to eight college-bound high school graduates. Additionally, Ivy Tech Community College and IUPUC will award each recipient with a $1,000 scholarship toward tuition at their respective institutions.
“This, of course, would not be possible without the generous sponsorship of our community business leaders,” said the Rev. Fred King, among the organizers.
The scholarships are awarded based on need, academic performance, extracurricular activities, and community involvement.
Besides Wright, Mayor Jim Lienhoop and Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. Superintendent Jim Roberts also are scheduled to speak.
The breakfast also includes the pastors alliance presentation of awards such as its Beloved Community Award to a person with a lifelong commitment to community involvement.
