MLK Prayer Breakfast

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'There is but one race, and that is the human race'
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The theme for the Eunice Martin Luther King Jr. celebration is “There is but one race, and that is the human race,” was prominent as the observance began Saturday at the fifth annual Prayer Breakfast.
Debrielle Scott, principal of Eunice Junior High School, was the principal speaker at the Dr. J.G. Frank Family Life Center, 215 Nimitz St.
“God made man in his own image,” she said. “Knowing that man was made in the likeness of God means that within each of us is the ability to engage and impact the human race.”
Scott said, “Within each of us is the ability to love unconditionally, to forgive to show compassion, to be honest, to be responsible, to be morally conscious, to be morally responsible not just for self, but for others, not just my own family but for other families, not just for my neighborhood, but for your neighborhood, not just for myh church, but your church and their church.”
Scott spoke about progress and noted it has a past, present and future.
“We simply cannot be complacent. We must continually strive for progress,” she said.
The events honoring the civil rights leader who was assassinated on April 4, 1968, are organized by the MLK Citywide Celebration Committee.
The celebration continues today with a parade at 2 p.m. at the Eunice City Hall and program at 3 p.m. at the Dr. J.G. Frank Family Life Center. Parade lineup is at 1 p.m. at the City Hall parking lot.
The parade will go south on 2nd Street to Maple Avenue where it turns east to Martin Luther King Drive where it turns north to Anne Street and then west to the church.
The program’s principal speaker will be Eunice native Leroy “Pete” Burney.
Burney retired from Hallmark Cards earlier in 2016 after serving 25 years with the company. He was senior vice president of supply chain and business establishment and a corporate officer from 2009 to 2016.
Burney is a native of Eunice and graduated from Eunice High School and LSU Eunice. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from LSU and earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts.
He served four years as a signal corps officer in the United States Army’s 82nd Airborne Division before joining Hallmark.