General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret), Speaks at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast

General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret), addressed a sell-out crowd of 2,000 at the 19^th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast at the Minneapolis Convention Center today.

Mindful of tomorrow’s inauguration of the nation’s first African-American president, General Powell shared his perspective about the election and its ties to Dr. King’s legacy. He spoke passionately about Dr. King’s journey from a small town preacher to Nobel laureate in just nine years.

"Inspire? Lord, did he inspire,” General Powell said. "He inspired millions around the world to believe that things could be changed, that you could throw off the chains holding you down and rise up.”

During General Powell’s own career as soldier, statesman and citizen, he broke many barriers, including serving as the first African-American to hold the positions of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993) and U.S. Secretary of State (2001-2005).

The General Mills Foundation and UNCF (United Negro College Fund) began hosting the holiday breakfast in 1991, and it has become a Twin Cities tradition that kicks off a day of metrowide celebrations. The event honors Dr. King’s contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, which not only transformed American laws and life, but also inspired worldwide human rights reforms.

Long a champion for young people, General Powell was the founding chairman of America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth, the nation’s largest multi-sector collaborative dedicated to the well-being of children. He was in the Twin Cities in late 2007 for the opening of the Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center in south Minneapolis, and earlier this month, he unveiled a Renew America Together initiative as part of President-elect Barack Obama’s national call to service.

Tomorrow’s events in Washington demonstrate that America has made progress, but there is "much more we have to do to meet the dreams of Dr. King,” General Powell said.

"I congratulate you all for giving the Twin Cities community the opportunity to come together and remember the legacy of this great American, a man whose life perfectly matched the theme you have chosen for this breakfast -- to lead, grow, inspire.”

With the theme of "Because of his Dream, I Can … Lead, Grow, Inspire,” the 2009 breakfast program featured a strong youth component that included a teen jazz ensemble from the Main Street School of Performing Arts, a poetic reading from student Tre’ana Mullins of the VocalEssence WITNESS program, and choir music from Steven Daniels and Young Voices of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.

David Gholar, a student at Roosevelt High School, received the 2009 Emerging Legend award, a new honor established this year to recognize youth who are serving with distinction in their communities. Each year during the breakfast, the event committee honors those who are actively involved in their community, demonstrating Dr. King’s dedication to nonviolent social change. The 2009 Local Legends are Fran Heitzman, founder of Bridging, Inc., and Margaret Lovejoy, founder and executive director of The Family Place.

Once again this year, breakfast guests – as well as television viewers -- were asked to fill out commitment cards pledging to volunteer in the coming year. The commitment card effort, initiated last year, generated thousands of hours of volunteerism in the Twin Cities in 2008.

In welcoming guests, 2009 MLK Jr. Holiday Breakfast Committee Chair Kelly Baker noted that, "It’s imperative that we realize that Dr. King’s dream is relevant today, more than ever before. But there is work to do. While tomorrow we ring in a new day for America, we must stay focused on paving the way for more Barack Obamas, more Condoleezza Rices, more Colin Powells. Our young people need us, and we need them.”

The event also included remarks from Deborah Tansil Graham, United Negro College Fund regional director, and Ellen Goldberg Luger, executive director of the General Mills Foundation. Both praised the work, spirit and legacy of Dr. King and encouraged continued dedication to those ideals.

As in past years, the breakfast was broadcast live on Twin Cities Public Television, and will be rebroadcast tonight on Channel 17. Among the viewers of the morning telecast were approximately 1,000 citizens who attended five free community breakfasts hosted by the St. Paul Area Council of Churches. In addition, through a unique alliance that featured technology support from Best Buy, General Powell’s address was simulcast this year by Twin Cities Public Television to nearly a dozen other cities involved in the National Mentoring Project.

Previous breakfast speakers have included U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Juan Williams, Vernon Jordan, Alex Haley, Cicely Tyson, Yolanda King, Andrew Young and Martin Luther King III.

As the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization, UNCF’s mission is to enhance the quality of education by providing financial assistance to deserving students, raising operating funds for member colleges and universities, and increasing access to technology for students and faculty at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUS). UNCF institutions and other HBCUS are highly effective, awarding 25 percent of African-American baccalaureate degrees.

The General Mills Foundation, celebrating more than 50 years of giving, is a champion for stronger communities. In fiscal 2008, General Mills awarded $87 million to communities, representing more than 5 percent of company pretax profits. Of that total, the General Mills Foundation contributed $21 million in grants in targeted areas of youth nutrition and fitness, social services, education, and arts and culture.