The day before the MLK Jr Day march leaves Garfield High School, the Emergency Feeding Program will host a concert and celebration of Dr. King’s life nearby on First Hill. Details:

King Classmate Rev. Dr. Samuel Berry McKinney to Keynote Seattle’s Annual Share the Dream Concert

In 1961, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his only visit to Seattle at the invitation of his friend and former Morehouse College classmate, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Berry McKinney.  McKinney was King’s lieutenant in the Pacific Northwest and for over fifty years has been a leader on human and civil rights issues in our area.  He served as pastor of the Mount Zion Baptist Church of Seattle for forty years (1958-1998), during which time he served the church and community in multiple roles: as pastor, preacher, teacher and community leader. He was a founding member of the Seattle Civil Rights Commission, founded the Seattle Opportunities Industrialization Center and was the first black president of the Church Council of Greater Seattle. Throughout the years, he has worked and continues to work on a number of social justice issues that impact our community.

Dr. McKinney will be delivering the keynote address at the annual “Share the Dream” concert to be held Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. at Seattle First Baptist Church (1111 Harvard Avenue in Seattle).  He will be reflecting both on how far our society has come since King’s visit as well as how far we have to go to achieve Dr. King’s dream of social and economic equality.

Joining Dr. McKinney and headlining the concert will be local gospel legends Pastor Pat Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir.  Like Dr McKinney, Pastor Wright has long served as local, national, and even international leader on social justice issues.

Because it is rooted in the faith community – the same community that engendered and inspired Dr. King – Pastor Wright refers to Share the Dream as Seattle’s true “community” celebration of Dr. King. And while the event is primarily a musical one, Dr. McKinney’s participation will make it also an occasion to reflect on both on how far our society has come since King’s visit as well as how far we have to go to achieve Dr. King’s dream of social and economic equality.

Co-sponsored by 91.3 KBCS Community Radio, there will be no charge for admission, but a freewill donation will be accepted to benefit those served by the Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle & King County.

For more information on Share the Dream, please contact the Emergency Feeding Program at (206) 329-0300 or visit www.emergencyfeeding.org.