While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the cancellation of this year’s 25th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Breakfast at Muskegon Community College, organizers will still mark the event’s silver anniversary with a special video tribute that premieres on Friday, Jan. 15, at 10 a.m.
The video will be shown on the MLK Unity Breakfast webpage at https://www.muskegoncc.edu/mlk-unity-day/, as well as on MCC Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Taking the place of the traditional breakfast keynote presentation, the video will feature Unity Breakfast keynote speakers from the last five years, along with two voices of the future, and the presentation of the 2021 MLK Legacy Award.
Against the backdrop of the past year’s tumultuous events, the speakers address the timeless relevance of Dr. King’s message in today’s society. The speakers include:
- Frank Dawson, Dean, Center for Media and Design, Santa Monica College (Retired)
- Theo E. J. Wilson, Executive Director, Shop Talk Live, Inc.
- Wes Hall, Educator, Author, and Teacher Trainer
- Rev. Alvin Herring, Executive Director, Faith in Action
- Dr. Jerry Wallace, President, Hasting Campus, Central Community College
- Mickey Wallace, Diversity Director, HealthWest Muskegon
In the video, the late Bishop Nathaniel Wyoming Wells, Jr. is posthumously presented the 2021 MLK Legacy Award by Ed Garner, the Regional Director for the Michigan Small Business Development Center. The award is given in appreciation to an individual who has diligently serves the community with their time, talents, and their commitment to justice, equity, and equality.
Bishop Wells, who died last year at age 78, was one of Muskegon County’s earliest victims of the coronavirus. For four decades, he presided over Holy Trinity Institutional Church of God in Christ. His Total Man Ministry achieved national acclaim for its approach of addressing the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of each individual.
Within the community, Bishop Wells was a catalyst for establishing programs in education, housing, transportation and childcare. On a larger scale, his Trinity Nonprofit Housing Corporation, which he founded in 1991, built and operated affordable housing developments in Muskegon County, Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor, Saginaw and Chicago, Ill. In 1995, he founded the Tri-Valley Academy charter school. A national leader in the Pentecostal movement, he earned his doctoral degree in theology from Midwest Theological University.
Among his many honors, Bishop Wells was named Most Influential Person of the Year in Muskegon in 2003 and in 2000 received both the Muskegon County Economic Development Award and the Muskegon Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award. He was presented the statewide Jeanne Peterson Award in Affordable Housing in 1999.
For more information on the MLK Unity Breakfast, contact Dan Rinsema-Sybenga at daniel.rinsema-sybenga@muskegoncc.edu.