Sacramento State hosted the 23rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. prayer breakfast for the second year in a row Monday. Presented by the Northern District Baptist Association, the breakfast, “A Call to Action: Live the Dream,” featured a musical performance by the Voices of the Northern District Children’s Choir, and guest speakers from local Baptist organizations.

In celebration of King’s birthday, Claybon Lea Jr., pastor of the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church and vice president of the California State Baptist Convention, took center stage in the University Union Ballroom to bring to attention the accomplishments of King’s life.

“Martin Luther King Jr. was charismatic,” Lea said. “He was inspiring, He was thought provoking and indefinitely impacting as a leader.”

Lea described King as a rare individual and characterized the sheer magnitude of his influence that spread from the South in the heat of the Civil Rights Movement to international recognition as a substantial American icon. “He was a great, an American ?” one of the greatest to every set foot on American soil,” Lea said.

Rev. Keith Thompson, Minister of the St. John Baptist Church lead the attendees in prayer, depicting the main purpose of the event.

“We remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and all that he has done for mankind,” he said.

Some who attended enjoyed the event. “(Lea’s speech) was good,” Lathasha James, Ms. Black Sacramento 2005, and freshmen Child Development Major, said. James was invited to be a presenter by the event organizers. “It (the speech) was one of the best I’ve heard in a long time.”

This was Lea’s third year as a speaker for the event. He advised all students to become part of the community.

“Knowing there is a larger purpose for you to be used in the community and in the world,” Lea said. “Be a world citizen and make an impact in the world.”

King served as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1959, and was a prominent leader in the Civil Rights Movement. His most famous speeches and letters ?” his “I have a dream” speech and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” ?” have received acclaim. In April 1968, King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

Matthew Beltran can be reached at [email protected]