SELMA – In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on Monday, the Selma Chapter of Links, Inc. will host the 17th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 a.m. at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center at 211 Washington St.

“We try to work toward unifying the community,” said Mrs. Nancy Sewell, president of Selma Links. “We want to keep the dream alive.”

Dr. Gwendolyn B. Lee, the national president of Links, Inc., will serve as the keynote speaker of the event. This year’s breakfast will honor Attorney Rose Sanders, a Civil Right leaders and community activist, Sister Jane Kelly, a member of the Fathers of St. Edmund, and Mr. Robert Carter, principal of Sophia P. Kingston Elementary.

“I thought it was an honor to have been asked to come to Selma,” said Dr. Lee. Her message will focus around volunteering and giving back to the community in order to help others help themselves. Her speech draws from Dr. King’s message of community development. “He was a staunch believer in volunteerism,” Dr. Lee said.

Selma Links members unanimously chose the honorees. “Many of the Links sisters brought in name of people from the community,” said Selma Links member Frances Bumbrey. According to Mrs. Bumbrey, Ms. Sanders “has worked heavily with civil rights,” Ms. Sanders said. “She has done a lot with the community.” Sister Kelly is a practitioner in the Pine Apple community and has done much for the people of that area, according to Mrs. Bumbrey. Mr. Carter was chosen because he has accomplished much while working in the school system. “He has touched the lives of so many children,” Mrs. Bumbrey said.

All members of the community are invited to attend the Unity Breakfast. “It’s producing unity with the community and recognizing those who have lived in the community and make it a great city and the public service wonderful,” Mrs. Bumbrey said.

Tickets are available for purchase from Selma Links members for $15. No tickets will be sold at the door. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Links Scholarship Fund. “We hope that as many people as possible will be able to come to celebrate Dr. King’s birthday and to produce unity within the community,” Mrs. Bumbrey said.

Links, Inc. is one of the oldest and largest volunteer organizations, comprised of professional women of color. The Selma Chapter is one of 270 chapters in the United States, District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

For more information, contact Mrs. Nancy Sewell at 334-875-2481 or 334-349-2003, or Mrs. Dorothy Barnes at 334-875-4588.