Texana – Organizers of the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast canceled the event for a second consecutive year due to rising COVID-19 case numbers.
Until last year, the breakfast served to celebrate King’s birthday and acted as a major fundraiser for its host, the Texana Community Development Club. This year’s event would have represented its 30th anniversary.
Club President Eurial Turner said the breakfast typically hosts 125-150 people. Funds raised support the center’s utility bills and community activities.
“It’s affected us, but we have some loyal supporters,” Turner said.
Like other organizations, many of the Texana Community Development Club’s plans and activities have been put on hold since the pandemic began. The club also has adapted to what Turner calls the “new normal” created by the virus, working to fill gaps and needs wherever possible.
“It’s not just about the Texana community,” Turner said. “We’re also part of Cherokee County, so anything that’s going on that the county can benefit from, obviously the center is open to that.”
Turner said the club previously reached an agreement with the Cherokee County Board of Education to provide space for students who were participating in virtual learning but didn’t have access to the internet at home. Since then, the club also has put a greater focus on providing opportunities for individuals of all ages to learn computer skills.
“We’re just trying to introduce people to that confidence level (with computers),” Turner said.
The club also installed a food pantry for area residents in need. While the pantry operates on a limited schedule each week, Turner said he is more than willing to provide access anytime a need arises.
Inclusivity is an important focus for Turner. The club’s community center is available for a variety of purposes and hosts health fairs, youth programs and other meetings under normal circumstances.
“We understand what Dr. King stood for and it wasn’t a black or white thing, a blue, green or yellow thing, it was about everybody,” Turner said. “His message was all inclusive, so we have speakers from different cultures come as guest
speakers.”
An editorial in Sunday’s edition of The New York Post posed the question, “What would the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. think of America today?” on what would have been his 93rd birthday.
A July 2021 Gallup poll showed that, for the second straight year, U.S. adults’ ratings of relations between black and white Americans at their lowest point in more than 20 years. Only 42 percent of Americans described race relations as “very” or “somewhat” good, while 57 percent categorized them as “somewhat” or “very” bad.
As recently as 2013, 72 percent of U.S. adults polled rated race relations positively. In recent years, however, the U.S. has grappled with high-profile, fatal police shootings of unarmed black men – often caught on camera – followed by nationwide protests and calls for racial justice.
Turner said the club doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable issues, and instead aims to make its programs current to what is going on in society. Dialogue is the key to finding common ground.
“Everybody can participate and voice their opinions and get their thoughts and opinions on the table,” Turner said. “We recognize that everybody is not going to agree, but the main thing is to open up a dialogue. People have more in common than they think, but they just don’t take the time to sit down and talk.”