Emmanuel Hosts Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast
January 26, 2010
Emmanuel College hosted the annual Colleges of the Fenway (COF) breakfast honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on January 26th. The event was open to all students, faculty and staff from each COF institution.
Emmanuel's Assistant Director of Athletics and Head Men's Basketball Coach Jamahl Jackson hosted the program, which opened with an invocation by Reverend Melinda Weekes of Simmons College followed by welcoming remarks from President of Massachusetts College of Art and Design Katherine Sloan, Ph.D.
The keynote address was delivered by Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion for Monster.com Stephen Pemberton, who also serves as the company's chief diversity officer. Pemberton was named one of the "Top 20 Chief Diversity Officers in Corporate America" by Fortune Magazine and provided testimony on Capitol Hill on best practices in diversity recruiting. In 2008, Pemberton was named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential African-Americans in Corporate America" by Savory Magazine. A ward of the state for much of his childhood, Pemberton has made opportunity, access and equality pillars of his personal and professional life, serving on the boards of Big Brother Big Sister, Citi Performing Arts Center, Home for Little Wanderers and National TRIO Alumni Association.
Prior to the event, the College's of the Fenway put forth an essay-writing contest to students from all COF institutions in order to choose a student speaker for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast. The essay was based on each student's individual interpretation of Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The winner of the contest, Destiny Palmer '10, of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, addressed the audience in regards to her essay and what the speech means to her.
The program concluded with closing remarks by Executive Director of the Colleges of the Fenway Claire Ramsbottom, who invited the audience to reflect on all that they had learned and share with one another, followed by a musical performance by Emmanuel's Legacy of Praise Gospel Choir. .jpg)
