35th Annual Asheville Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast in pictures

Posted on by Virginia Daffron
Elmira Warren, originally of Asheville, now of Gainesville, FL.

A capacity crowd of nearly 1,200 attendees filled the largest ballroom at Asheville’s Crowne Plaza Resort to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sat., January 16. Dedicated to the memory of Clara Jeter, the theme of the 35th annual event was “A Call to Service.”

Event founder and director Oralene Anderson Graves Simmons received The Order of the Long Leaf Pine from April Riddle on behalf of North Carolina Gov. Pat McGrory. Among the most prestigious awards conferred by the governor, this recognition is given for exemplary service to the state.

Asheville native Rodney Johnson gave the keynote address. Mr. Johnson recently retired as the Executive Director for Parent Services from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

The Spirit Choir, led by Damion McDay, performed several songs.

All photos by Virginia Daffron

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About Virginia Daffron
Managing editor, lover of mountains, native of WNC. Follow me @virginiadaffron
View all posts by Virginia Daffron →

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4 thoughts on “35th Annual Asheville Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast in pictures”

  1. Gloria Linton

    Looks like there was a great turnout for this event. Had I been still living in Asheville I would have been there. Continued success!

  2. Lulz

    LOL, the “dream” has been hijacked by a bunch of con artist, thieves, and cronies. I dare say MLK would be ashamed today. And that’s a big IF his public persona matches the private person.

    • mynameis

      Surprise!Lulz has stopped in to take a dump in another comment section. Stay classy, Lulz!

      • Lulz

        LOL, oh but it’s true lulz. All indications point towards continued decline in black socioeconomic levels, continued poor educational performance, continued increase in one parent households, continued increases in black on black violence rates, continued increase in black incarceration rates. And the biggest joke of all is a room full of people stuffing their faces that think they have something to celebrate lulz. LOL, like they’ve accomplished something positive but in reality manipulate MLK for their own gain.

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