The General Mills Foundation and UNCF are honored to present the 22nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Breakfast. The Holiday Breakfast is an opportunity to celebrate the life and legacy of the man and movement that not only changed civil rights laws for all Americans but set in motion the drive for human rights reform worldwide. The theme of this year's Holiday Breakfast is "Building Peace and Unity within the Global Community."

NAOMI TUTU:
The challenges of growing up black and female in apartheid South Africa has led Naomi Tutu to her present role as an activist for human rights. Her experiences have taught her how much we all lose when any of us is judged purely on physical attributes.

The third child of Archbishop Desmond and Nomalizo Leah Tutu, she was born in South Africa and has also lived in Lesotho, the United Kingdom and the United States. Growing up as the "daughter of ..."has offered her many opportunities and challenges in her life. Most important of these has been the challenge to find her own place in the world. She has taken up the challenge and channeled the opportunities that she has been given to raise her voice as a champion for the dignity of all.

Her professional experience ranges from being a development consultant in West Africa to a program coordinator for race and gender-based violence in education at the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town.  In addition, Tutu has taught at the University of Hartford and Brevard College in North Carolina. She also leads workshops on conflict resolution and racism. She earned her bachelor’s in economics and French from Berea College and her master’s in international economic development from the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Economic Development from the University of Kentucky. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Universal Orthodox College of Ogun State, Nigeria, in 1985. She is currently working on her doctorate at the London School of Economics, while teaching at the School of Education at the University of Connecticut. She is also the program coordinator for the Race Relations Institute at Fisk University.

Tutu is an ambassador of Join My Village, an innovative, online social change initiative facilitated by the humanitarian organization CARE with financial support from General Mills and Merck that seeks to empower women and girls in the developing world.

Special Guest
DR. MICHAEL LOMAX

Dr. Michael L. Lomax is president and CEO of UNCF (United Negro College Fund) the nation's largest and most effective minority education organization. Each year, UNCF provides scholarships to more than 10,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities under 400 programs including the Gates Millennium Scholars Program; sustains and strengthens its 38 member historically black colleges and universities; and serves as a national advocate for the importance of education from pre-school through college.

Prior to leading UNCF, Dr. Lomax served seven years as president of Dillard University in New Orleans. Previously he was the first African American chair of the Fulton County Commission in Atlanta and a college professor at Morehouse and Spelman Colleges and the University of Georgia.

PHOTO CREDIT: Timothy Greenfield Sanders

Invocation:
REVEREND GLORIA ROACH THOMAS

Reverend Gloria Roach Thomas is an Ordained Clergy in the United Methodist Annual Conference of Minnesota. For the past nine years Reverend Thomas has served as Senior Pastor of Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Prior to this appointment, she served as Associate Pastor at Brooklyn United Methodist Church in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Before entering the ordained ministry, Reverend Thomas worked in the areas of education and non-profit health and human services for 23 years. In addition to her pastorate, Reverend Thomas teaches in the Mortuary Science Program in the School of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. She teaches "Death and Dying Across Cultures and Religions" to students in the fields of mortuary science, public health, psychology and family social science. In addition, Reverend Thomas provides culturally-sensitive individual and family pastoral care and counseling and leads support groups in the areas of grief process and grief management with a particular emphasis on suicide and other traumatic death.

Reverend Thomas is active in various organizations in the Twin Cities community. She holds B. S. and M. S. Degrees in Education from Winthrop University in South Carolina and a Master of Divinity Degree from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. A native of South Carolina, Reverend Thomas has resided in Minnesota for 35 years. She was married to the late Leroy Thomas for 32 years.

THE STEELES:
The Steeles are a family group of brothers and sisters that consist of J.D., Fred, Jearlyn, Jevetta, and Billy Steele. They have been singing together since they were young children growing up in
Gary, IN. They began to develop their style and soul in Minneapolis, MN. They  have recorded and performed with Prince, Donald Fagen, Morgan Freeman, George Clinton, Mavis Staples, Johnny Lang, Peabo Bryson, The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and many others throughout their long and storied career. The family has traveled around the world in the acclaimed musical The Gospel at Colonus including a Broadway run at the Lunt Fontanne theatre in1988. Their recent accomplishments include projects with corporate clients including Target, Best Buy, AMBEV, and Delta Airlines. They have been featured on national commercials as well as local spots and enjoy an international profile that has earned them a worldwide audience.

Their melodic sounds have been heard around the world including Carnegie Hall, Paris, London, Barcelona, Italy, South America, Moscow, Brazil, Scotland and all around the US. The Steeles have also contributed music to several film soundtracks, including the documentary Hoopdreams, Graffiti Bridge, Blank Man, and Corrina. Corrina. The siblings continue to perform in world class productions around the globe.  www.thesteelesmusic.com

WALKER WEST MUSIC ACADEMY:
Located in the heart of the Rondo Community of Saint Paul, Walker West Music Academy is a non-profit community school of music dedicated to instruction and performance reflective of the African American experience. For over twenty years students of all ages and backgrounds have gathered at the academy to celebrate individual expression through music. The Academy employs more than twenty teaching artists who provide musical education to over 200 students an annual basis.
The Academy's three student jazz combos perform music inspired by jazz legends like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Thelonios Monk. They perform for the public on a regular basis and have appeared at events for St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, the Pan-African Community Endowment and have perform on the main stage of the Twin Cities Jazz Festival on an annual basis.  www.walkerwestmusicacademy.org