Celebrating MLK Day at annual ‘We Have A Dream’ event

(ABC 6 NEWS) – Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and people in Rochester gathered virtually for the annual We Have A Dream event by the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce.

The event was put on by the Chamber along with the Diversity Council and NAACP Rochester Branch.

The program kicked off with music by Ill Chemistry and a poetry reading.

The featured keynote speaker Lorien Carter is an advocate for the black and brown community. She started her work back in 2015 after the homicide of her 19-year-old nephew.

"I am taking responsibility and pushing for a world without systemic racism no matter how long it takes and you should too. I am not sure if it is the same promise land that Dr. Martin Luther King saw, but he laid the foundation by sacrificing his life for us so that is the promise land I am working for and you should too," Carter said.

NAACP President Wale Elegbede also shared some words after Carter’s talk.

"It takes a village and more work needs to be done. So I ask you to commit to making 2022 a year of action and I also ask you to challenge your organization to do all they can in advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, justice too long delayed is justice denied," Elegbede said.

He also shared a new program coming this summer called RISE for Youth this is a program by the Rochester NAACP and Mayo Clinic.

It is designed to help black and underrepresented youth transform themselves from youth with potential to competitive and powerful talent entering the workforce.

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