The annual Crispus Attucks MLK Breakfast is a time for the community to come together, to foster relationships, to dialogue around the life and legacy of Dr. King, and to confront issues of inequity and injustice. As we began discussing our 2024 event, the MLK Breakfast Committee was especially interested in ensuring that this year’s breakfast would address democracy, civic engagement, and voting rights to ignite the importance of participation and community commitment in what is expected to be a highly-charged election year.

On Monday, Jan. 15, to celebrate the 36th annual MLK Breakfast, we will welcome Bakari Sellers to Lancaster for “Activating the Promise of Democracy.”

Mr. Sellers is a two-time NY Times best-selling author, civil rights activist, attorney, entrepreneur, legislator, and overall prolific voice of the culture. While his father, civil rights leader Cleveland Sellers, helped shape movements working alongside Stokely Carmichael, Bayard Rustin, and Malcolm X, Bakari has come into his own helping to write the blueprint for today's movements with the likes of Rep. James Clyburn, Attorney Benjamin Crump, and President Barack Obama. Mr. Sellers entered Morehouse College at the age of 16, and he went on to graduate from the University of South Carolina Law School and became the youngest-ever legislator in the South Carolina state legislature at 22. He has written two books: My Vanishing Country, a memoir, and Who Are Your People?, a children’s book. Sellers is attorney with Strom Law Firm, LLC in Columbia, South Carolina, where he heads the firm's Strategic Communication and Public Affairs team and the DEI Consulting practice. He also hosts The Bakari Sellers Podcast and is a CNN analyst.

Activating the Promise of Democracy speaks to Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, in which he declared “Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy.” In a country that often cites democracy as its most important founding principle, engagement of all people in community, civics, and voting can make a true difference both for today and for generations to come. This event will ignite a full year of conversations to ensure Lancaster Countians work together to activate the promise of democracy that Dr. King championed.