Shuffling in from the cold, scores of people descended on the Selma Convention Center Monday to take part in the Selma Chapter of The Links Incorporated’s 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Unity Breakfast.

Seated alongside representatives from the organization, both local and national, were Dallas County Probate Judge Jimmy Nunn, Alabama Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Selma, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-AL, and Sen. Doug Jones, D-AL.

Selma Links President Dorothy Barnes welcomed everyone and called the event an opportunity to “remember and celebrate” the legacy of MLK.

“This is a day to be of service,” Banes said. “We must positively transform our communities and fulfill our purpose.”

Nunn briefly addressed the crowd, followed by Chestnut, who called for those in attendance to take in the spirit of the day and “be unified for the sake of the children, so they will know Selma is a unified community.”

Sewell addressed the contingent next and took Washington to task over the ongoing government shutdown affecting thousands across the country.

“We must reopen the government,” Sewell said. “I know Selma’s hurting, as is the rest of America. We all could use a hand.”

Sewell called for unity and an investment in the youth and apologized for having to leave the gathering early to go and distribute food to federal employees at the airport in Montgomery.

She also promised to return to Washington with a “renewed vigor” to reopen the government.

Jones spoke next and thanked the people of Selma for supporting him in his bid for U.S. Senate.

“I’m a United States Senator because of Selma [and] Dallas County,” Jones said. 

Like Sewell, Jones slammed the ongoing impasse in Washington.

“We are in a bad place in this country right now,” Jones said. “The shutdown is a symptom. Make no mistake, this is a hostage crisis.”

Jones called for a spirit of compromise to honor the legacy of MLK.

“We seem to be lacking that vision today,” Jones said. “As we all know, we still have a long way to go.”

The keynote speaker for the breakfast was Dr. Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, the 17th National President of The Links, who began her remarks with the following quote from MLK: “We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience.”

Leonard spoke of arriving in Selma Sunday, her first time in the city, and the impression of being in a place of national importance.

“I feel that we are standing on holy ground,” Leonard said. “No one can be here without feeling the power of this city.”

Leonard talked about the progress that people felt was made when President Barack Obama was elected as the first African-American president in 2008, but noted that such a feeling had been overwhelmed by the current administration.

“We had hope,” Leonard said. “Today, I’m not so sure. Discrimination, injustice and a lack of civility seem to be the order of the day.”

The group presented Distinguished Citizens Awards to Judge Collins Pettaway and Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sheryl Smedley and presented scholarships to area students.