'The dream is still moving': Keynote speaker inspires crowd at annual MLK Prayer Brunch

Even though those who packed the 200 tables Monday in the Crown Exposition Center came ready to eat, the more than 1,000 members of the Fayetteville community at the brunch left with a newfound sense of empowerment. Speakers from religious, political and educational walks of life all aimed to represent Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream by inspiring those in the crowd.

The 31st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Brunch, which was hosted by Fayetteville Cumberland County Ministerial Council, began by honoring some of The Fayetteville Observer's Future Black History Makers. The full list of 2024 Future Black History Makers will be announced Feb 1.

Host and FCCMC President Sharon Thompson-Journigan spoke about the importance of education being the theme of this year's event.

"Teachers let me say we see you. Students let me say we see you. Administrators let me say we see you, and we honor you today." Thompson Journigan said before asking them to stand up for a round of applause.

City of Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin spoke briefly about King's impact.

"Dr. King died and sacrificed his life for us to be here today," Colvin said.

The mayor also told those at the brunch that he would be holding a meeting Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. to discuss ways to help children in the community.

The event took a moment to honor FCCMC 2023 Student Scholarship Recipient Isha McAllister during the brunch. She spoke to the attendees about how important the scholarship was to her getting into college.

"I knew God would provide for me, I just had to wait for it," McAllister said. "Because of this scholarship, I was able to get everything that I needed in order to go to college, and I can proudly say that I just finished my first semester of college with a GPA of 3.8."

After the brunch and selection from Southview Voices of Praise, Keynote Speaker the Rev. Pia Jessup-Tolliver, associate minister at St. Thomas Ellis Creek AME Zion Church and Middle School teacher in Bladen County, brought an emotional and empowering speech to the audience.

Jessup-Tolliver's subject for her speech was for those in attendance to "reach for the moon."

Some of our nation's controversies were also addressed during Jessup-Tolliver's speech. The reverend spoke about books that "illuminated the African American experience" being banned, the affirmative action Supreme Court ruling and the protests in the Tennessee capital.

"You can't blame us for everything," Jessup-Tolliver said.

Jessup-Tolliver credited activist Barbara Johns, who at 16 years old led a student strike for equal education opportunities at R.R. Moton High School in Virginia, for bringing the start of the Civil Rights movement.

"The Civil Rights really got its start in Prince Edward County, Virginia, led by a 16-year-old girl," Jessup-Tolliver said. "The boycott had to have a blueprint from somewhere."

Jessup-Tolliver made sure to show King's influence on the world, saying that people thought the dream stopped after King's death but was spread to influential Black voices in the United States like Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and Kentaji Brown Jackson.

"Mark my words, that the dream is still moving, and I believe it is going to land somewhere up in here. That there is a child up in here that is going to take up the dream, and we are going to be reading about them," Jessup-Tolliver said. "If you're going to shoot for anything, if you're going to be anything, I dare somebody to reach for the moon."

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: MLK Prayer Brunch held at Crown Exposition Center in Fayetteville, NC