A role for all, Tutu tells MLK Day audience
January 16, 2012
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General Mills Corporate Communications |
Issuing a call to action for community engagement, global human rights activist Naomi Tutu challenged audience members at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast to get involved.
“The true celebration of Dr. King’s birthday happens when we step outside these doors and act for justice,” said Tutu.
Speaking at the sold-out, annual event Monday morning in downtown Minneapolis, Tutu asked, “Are we going to be those who use the gifts that we have to improve the lot of those less fortunate? Or are we simply going to use the gifts we have to enrich and soften our own lives?”
Tutu has followed in the activist footsteps of her father, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. She noted that the nonviolent approach embraced by King served as a model for those fighting for equality in South Africa. Today, whether it’s in South Africa, the United States or elsewhere, “we are far from the promised land,” she said, noting lack of safety, clean water and access to education as continued challenges facing many.
In 2011, Tutu became an ambassador for Join My Village, the online initiative sponsored by General Mills and Merck that seeks to empower women and girls in the developing world.
Prestigious list
As the 2012 breakfast speaker, she joins a prestigious list of past speakers that includes Gen. Colin Powell, USA (Ret), the Rev. Joseph Lowery, Andrew Young, U.S. Rep. John Lewis and the late Yolanda King.
General Mills and its employees and retirees long have been supporters of the breakfast, which reflects the company’s mission of Nourishing Lives. A committee of more than 30 volunteers – primarily General Mills employees – plans and plays host to the event each year.
The annual holiday breakfast dovetailed with a weekend of activities in the Twin Cities hosted by the General Mills Black Champions Network (BCN). The employee network’s multi-day MLK Leadership Summit featured development and recognition sessions, along with networking and social opportunities.
Keeping with tradition, Monday’s holiday breakfast was broadcast live on Twin Cities Public Television and will be rebroadcast on the statewide Minnesota channel several times in the coming days.
Award winners
Ellen Goldberg Luger, executive director of the General Mills Foundation, introduced this year’s Local Legend and Emerging Legend community service award winners. Wayzata High School senior Peter Larson, the 2012 Emerging Legend winner, has spent many cold, winter nights sleeping outside to raise awareness and more than $400,000 for homelessness programs.
VJ Smith, national president of MAD DADS and founder of its Minneapolis chapter; and Dr. Mary M. Tjosvold, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and owner of Mary T. Inc., were named as the 2012 Local Legends.
The breakfast also included remarks from Sharon Smith-Akinsanya, area development director for UNCF (United Negro College Fund), who spoke about UNCF and King’s shared commitment to education. The Steeles and students from the Walker West Music Academy provided music for the event.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast is a partnership between the General Mills Foundation and UNCF, which supports the education of more than 60,000 college students each year. Dr. King was an alumnus of UNCF member institution Morehouse College.
The annual holiday breakfast began when UNCF and the General Mills Foundation joined together to host a community celebration. What started with 800 guests in 1991 now has grown so large that it reaches capacity seating at the Minneapolis Convention Center as one of the largest Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday breakfasts in the nation.
