Chicago’s Black leaders celebrated Black history and vowed to continue the fight against racism at an annual interfaith breakfast Friday celebrating the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Without mentioning his name, it was clear speakers were referencing President-elect Donald Trump and bracing for another tumultuous term ahead of his inauguration Monday.
“This is gonna be a tough four years,” keynote speaker Michael Eric Dyson said. “We ain’t gonna let no color orange distract us from what we have to do.”
Dyson, a professor of African American and diaspora studies at Vanderbilt University and former Sun-Times columnist, spent much of his speech seeking to inspire members of the crowd to push back against oppression in all forms and noting that the U.S. has an “addiction to war” and condemning the war in Gaza that has killed nearly 48,000 civilians.
Dyson, Mayor Brandon Johnson, faith leaders and other speakers stirred up the crowd of hundreds during the event by remembering King and other civil rights leaders, honoring the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and pushing for things like affordable housing, improved education and, above all, an end to white supremacy. In his speech, Johnson declared the beginning of a “new reconstruction era,” referencing the period after the Civil War ended and slavery was outlawed when the country grappled with how to integrate formerly enslaved people.
“You gotta be out of your freaking mind if you think I’m gonna let white supremacy divide us,” Johnson said. “The reconstruction era is alive and well.”
Johnson also recommitted himself and the city to aiding immigrants despite Trump’s promise to carry out mass deportations.
“We will never turn our backs on those who seek to find refuge in the greatest city in the world,” he said.
The 39th annual event was held at the Marriott Marquis hotel in the South Loop. Johnson presented the Champion of Freedom award to three Chicagoans: Spencer Leak Sr., a funeral director from the South Side; Larry Huggins, a philanthropist and construction executive; and Dr. Horace Smith, pastor at Apostolic Faith Church.
The event’s buzz was palpable with a gospel music performance by Jonathan McReynolds and the many standing ovations during and after speeches.
Dyson integrated rap verses of Tupac Shakur’s “Still I Rise” and Eric B. and Rakim’s “Move the Crowd” into his speech and was met with cheers and some audience members joining in.
As speakers remembered the legacy of King, they urged the audience to be inspired by his work and continue it in their own lives.
“Martin Luther King Jr. told the truth,” Dyson said. “And we gotta tell the truth as well.”