MINNEAPOLIS _ Myrlie Evers-Williams, civil rights activist and widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, said Monday that while Americans are being challenged as never before, they will "be all right" if the spirit of justice and equality stays strong.
Evers-Williams spoke to 2,000 Minnesotans at the 27th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast at the Minneapolis Convention Center. She praised the crowd as a collection of freedom lovers and freedom workers.
"You are keeping the spirit of the true America alive," Evers-Williams, 83, said.
One of the largest MLK events in the country, the breakfast's guest list included a who's who of Minnesota politics: Gov. Mark Dayton, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Reps. Tom Emmer and Betty McCullum, Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.
Evers-Williams compared today's youth protesting racial disparities and police shootings to the young civil rights activists who protested, demanded change and even lost their lives in the 1950s and '60s.
"Our young people are crying out today in the same way," she said. "Young people are saying, 'No more.'" She added that older generations must show the new wave of activists the way.
After her speech, Evers-Williams said she "just became ill" when a reporter asked her about Friday's inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
"I am not going to get into a public debate on the president-elect and the state of America except to say I am very concerned," she said. "As long as I can work for those things we hold so near and dear _ freedom, equality, job opportunities and the civility we need to have among ourselves _ those seem to be missing now, and it's very sad to me. As long as I can continue to work to improve relationships across the color line and other barriers, I will continue to do so."
The annual breakfast was organized in partnership with the General Mills Foundation and the United Negro College Fund. This year's events raised $130,000 for the scholarship fund.
