CLARION – Alicia Shropshire will be the keynote speaker at the 9th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Breakfast, which will be presented as a free Zoom webinar on January 18th at 9:00 am. This year’s theme is “The King Legacy: What You Do For Others”.
“While we are disappointed that we cannot meet in person, we hope the community will attend the webinar while they have breakfast at home,” said Amy Salsgiver, Clarion University director of social justice and chair of Martin Luther King Jr Breakfast Committee. “It is more important than ever to share Rev. King’s message of peace, unity and service.”
Keynote Speaker Alicia Shropshire, a 2004 graduate of Clarion University, is celebrating her ninth year as a professional artist in Pittsburgh and the Tri-State. As an entertainer, writer, instructor, promoter and producer, Shropshire has forged meaningful and rewarding relationships that span the ocean, from sword swallowers on Coney Island to internationally recognized burlesque kings and queens.
While touring music festivals, conventions, and Hollyburgh film sets, Shropshire saw a constant, observable trend with a growing need to be addressed. Artists and activists like the jazz chanteuse Phat Man Dee and Liz Berlin from Rusted Root saw it too. When Man Dee and Berlin put together the Social Justice Disco in 2016, a culturally diverse activist music project that revived the energy of the disco with the power of protest songs, Shropshire was initially engaged as a dancer. Her role grew rapidly: for the past four years, she has led workshops with Man Dee in the spiritual and artistic communities to combat cultural appropriation.
“The idea can be intimidating, but we can all come together to take responsibility and learn,” Shropshire said. “These crucial conversations are an important component in empowering and elevating long-suffering, exploited, overlooked communities left behind by systemic racism.”
Shropshire is the daughter of Jamie and the late John Shropshire, former Clarion University Dean for Admissions and Clarion County Commissioner.
In addition to Shropshire’s keynote address, the webinar includes comments from Dr. Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson, President of Clarion University; and Rogers Laugand, Director of Multicultural Affairs and Diversity Education at Clarion University. Student Jada Smith, a senior psychology student, will deliver a special message. Jake Jacobson, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, will lead the opening and closing prayers.
There will be a food drive at the Clarion County Park Pavilion from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Community members are invited to bring non-perishable food donations to the pavilion and enjoy free hot beverages and pastries to take away.
“Traditionally, breakfast attendees have brought non-perishable food donations for the ward’s pantry,” Salsgiver said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has created an increased need for such donations. That is why we organized the external food campaign to meet this need. We thank Eat’n Park, Clark’s Donuts, Walmart, and Clarion Chamber of Business and Industry for providing refreshments for the ride. “
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