Tag: MLK

Renowned Civil Rights Attorney Preston Tisdale Featured Speaker at 41st Annual MLK Day Breakfast Jan. 19

Ellyn Santiago, Dec. 4, 2025, Patch

Renowned civil rights Attorney Preston Tisdale will be the featured speaker at the 41st annual MLK Day Breakfast on Jan. 19, 2026 at Branford High School, 185 East Main Street, Branford.

Sponsored by the MLK Heritage Foundation and Branford Public Schools, the breakfast has become an annual tradition, bringing together hundreds of community members for an incredible morning of food, music, and inspiration.

As a long-time public defender and President of the Public Justice Foundation, Mr. Tisdale has dedicated his life to standing up to injustice. A partner at Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, he has fought in the courts against bias, discrimination, and oppression, and has served on the boards of multiple civic organizations that aid the less fortunate, including the Fairfield County Community Foundation and the Bridgeport Public Education Fund. He is also a recipient of the NAACP Distinguished Service Award.

Mr. Tisdale’s speech at the 2026 MLK Breakfast is entitled, Now Is the Time to Take a Stand, and will address the need to step forward and not turn away in the face of increasing uncertainty, he said.

“Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood,” said Tisdale, quoting Dr. King. “Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.”

With tickets just $20, and $5 for students, the MLK Day Breakfast promises to be an evocative morning.

The program also includes:

  • A full breakfast prepared by the BHS Culinary Arts program and Branford Rotary. Eggs, grits, bacon sausage, pancakes, coffee, tea, biscuits and more!
  • Songs by the award-winning Branford High School Music Makers, as well as music by XX, YY, ZZ.
  • Community – people come from Branford and beyond to talk, laugh and get to know each other. It’s a chance to gain new perspectives and meet strangers who become friends.

“There is nothing in Branford quite like the MLK Breakfast,” said Mary Fitz-Perry, President of the MLK Heritage Foundation, which co-hosts the event. “To see more than 250 people, from all ages and backgrounds, get together and genuinely talk to each other is a marvelous thing.”

For more information about the breakfast, please visit MLKHeritage.org.

[To read the article in its entirety, please go to bit.ly/3Y9azEA.]

Martin Luther King Love on March Wed. Jan. 15

WYBC Radio, 94.3 FM

Join 94.3 WYBC and Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Love March on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in New Haven.

The MLK Love March in New Haven has been going strong for over 50 years and it celebrates the life and work of the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Love March will begin at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church located at 100 Lawrence St. and continue to Whitney Ave. to Edwards St. to State St. to Lawrence St. We will march on this day rain or shine to commemorate the dreams and aspirations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Love March, which was started by Shiloh’s late Founder and Pastor, Rev. George W. Hampton, Sr., has been a positive force in the community of New Haven for more than 50 years. The Love March was created to preserve the notion of nonviolence.

Come out and lend your voice of support to the community in making New Haven a better place to live. Scheduled to attend will be some of our political leaders from New Haven and the State of Connecticut.

For more information, please call (203) 776-8262, by email at secretarysmbc100@gmail.com, or visit www.smbcnh.org.

MLK Day, take action to finish the work King began

MLK Day, take action to finish the work King began. Call to Unity and Action. Varick Memorial AME Zion Church, 242 Dixwell Ave., New Haven. Light meal and hors d’oeuvres will follow the program. This event is part of New Haven Rising’s 2018 dues and membership drive. If you’d like to co-sponsor this event or have any questions please respond to this email or call: 203-710-1084. For more information visit the Facebook event page here.

 

 

 

21st Annual Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy of Environmental and Social Justice Jan. 15 & 16

by Josue Irizarry, Peabody Events Coordinator

The Yale Peabody Museum at 170 Whitney Ave. will open its doors for a free, 2-day festival in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday, Jan. 15, noon to 4 p.m., and Monday, Jan. 16, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In his tireless efforts to work toward equality for, and harmony between, all people, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. strove to raise awareness about public health concerns and urban environmental issues that disproportionately affect communities. In recognition of the progress that has been achieved in these areas, and with optimism for the future, we will celebrate with music, dance, a teen summit, a community poetry open mic, a poetry slam and educational activities.

Join us on Sunday, Jan. 15 from 12 to 4 p.m. for our 8th annual Teen Summit event celebrating the legacy of Dr. King. In this interactive workshop, teens from all over Connecticut will come together to participate with dynamic youth leaders in an effort to promote social and environmental justice. The Teen Summit program will focus on the power of youth social activism and their role as advocates of social justice in their communities.

An important component of this celebration is our Zannette Lewis Environmental and Social Justice Community Poetry Open Mic and Poetry Slam. The Community Poetry Open Mic is on Sunday, Jan. 15 from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. and Monday, Jan. 16, from 11 a.m. to noon. The open mic is an exciting aspect of our festival that gives people an opportunity to honor the spoken word legacy of Dr. King by sharing original poetry or song. Pre-registration is required for the open mic. The Poetry Slam includes well-known poets from around Connecticut and the United States.

The New Haven Museum will open its doors for free on Monday, Jan. 16, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Storytelling takes place at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

For more information, visit http://www.peabody.yale.edu.