Mallow reminds crowd at MLK Breakfast of ‘sacrifices’ of the past

The guest speaker promised he would not speak long and he was a man of his word. While he kept his promise, he did give an impactful 11-minute speech.

State Sen. Derek Mallow was honored to speak during the Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast held last Monday. 

“I’m standing here before you today not only as a state senator but as a beneficiary of the sacrifices made by the generations before me,” Mallow said. “I do not take this responsibility lightly. Many of you stood, marched, organized and prayed so that the doors could open wider for those who came after you. For that, I said thank you.”

When reflecting on King’s life and legacy, Mallow said people can see and hear his speeches that moved a nation. Mallow mentioned Claudette Colvin, who on March 2, 1955, Colvin was arrested when she was 15 for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Mallow pointed out that this happened nine months before Rosa Parks.

“(Colvin) was arrested, handcuffed and jailed,” Mallow said. “She did not have a podium or bully pulpit. She did not have protection. She just had conviction. Her act of courage helped lay the legal groundwork that would dismantle bus desegregation and gave us the precursor to Rosa Parks. Yet for years, her name was pushed to the margins and fringes as an unknown, untold story of the Civil Rights Movement.”

Colvin’s story showed that the Civil Rights Movement has not always been carried by the famous but from ordinary people who made, “extraordinary choices.”

“Teenagers, laborers, domestic workers, sanitary workers, church mothers and young people who decided that dignity is non-negotiable,” Mallow said. “The night before his assassination Dr. Martin Luther King stood with striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tenn. He declared we’ve got to give ourselves to the struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point.”

King was trying to let people know that commitment was the key, because the movement was not just about what was happening in Memphis.

“The movement continues in 2026,” Mallow said. “King knew that justice needed to reach the paycheck, classroom and the ballot box. We are still struggling with this in 2026. It is my argument that public education is still under attack. Economic inequality is still widening; healthcare remains inaccessible for too many. Folks are dying because they don’t have a doctor to go to. Hospitals are closing in communities where it takes an hour to get you to the next hospital. Wages still fail to reflect the dignity of work and justice too often requires national attention before it is applied equally.”

Mallow lifted up the names of Tyre Nicholas and Ahmaud Arbery “because forgetting is just not an option.

“Dr. King taught us that democracy demands participation, not spectatorship,” Mallow said. “Faith demands action and not comfort. And justice requires persistence and not patience alone. As the Rev. William Barber reminds us that, “we are called in this moment to be the moral defibrillators of our time.” When some wants the harden the heart of our democracy, we are called to shock this nation. We loved to shock it with mercy and to shock it with an unrelenting demand for justice for all.” 

Mallow called it a sobering reminder that African Americans are still making some first-time accomplishments in this country. He pointed out that it took until 2025 to confirm Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first African American woman to serve on U.S. Supreme Court.

“We all have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Mallow said. “We need to recommit ourselves to an unfinished work.” 

Mallow mentioned Matt Hatchett, state representative for District 155.  Both opposed a voucher scam bill during last year’s legislative session. 

“We need to demand that we fund our public schools at a meaningful level,” Mallow said. “Matt Hatchett stood in the house as I stood in the senate, and opposed a voucher scam bill. They came up with $250 million to fund a voucher scam and that gentleman (pointing to Hatchett) stood flat-footed and said we’re not going to put it in the budget. When we are fighting to make sure everything south of I-16 is represented outside of the metro area, I can count on Matt Hatchett to be with me shoulder to shoulder. We might disagree philosophically on some things, but what we agree on is closer than you think.” 

  Mallow wanted everyone to remember Colvin, who passed away on Jan. 13. He said she may be an unknown name in the Civil Rights Movement, but she was a powerful voice who led the way for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

“In order for Dr. King to be great, there had to be good men and women who were foot soldiers in the trenches doing the work,” Mallow said. “Many of you in this room are the foot soldiers in the trenches doing the work. You may not receive the national recognition or the CNN interview, but you are doing the work. So, let us honor the known, the unknown and the unnamed, the celebrated and the overlooked, because this movement for civil rights and un-justice has always been bigger than one person.” 

Mallow reminded everyone that evil triumphs when people stand by and do nothing. If people want change, they must participate, engage and demand justice.

“Nothing would be more tragic than to give up right here in Laurens County,” Mallow said. “I, like Dr. King, want to do God’s will. If you want to do God’s will, when you see the hungry, you feed them. When you see them naked, you clothed them. When they are in the prisons, you go and minister to them. Jesus said, “When you have done them to the least of these, you will have done this for me.” Remember the least of these. Dr. King had a dream. We’ve been to the mountaintop, but there is still work to do.”  

  Valaya Marie Burke, who served as the breakfast’s mistress of ceremony, thanked Mallow for his speech.

“We are not only leaving here with a full belly but with a full mind,” Burke said. 

The breakfast celebrated the 50th year of the Black History Festival committee’s existence.

Richard Nesbitt presented an award for Willie C. Burke to Genola Burke, who had no idea this was happening Monday.

“This is a big surprise,” Genola said. “On behalf of the Burke family, I thank you so much.”

This is the Black Festival Committee’s 50th year. 

“We want to continue to celebrate and participate with us,” said Fran Wells, president of The Dublin-Laurens Black History Festival Community Committee Inc. “This is a day of service.”

Nesbitt said the MLK Breakfast had more than 500 people in attendance this year. He said the attendance continues to grow each year.

“It seems like next year we are going to have to find another place to host this,” Nesbitt said. “We sold over 500 tickets. I want to think everyone for coming out to make this possible.”

Nesbitt also addressed the audience about showing unity.

“Unity is not just a word, it’s a condition,” he said. “We have unity in our minds, but I don’t think we have it in our hearts. No matter where we go, we talk about unity. Unity has to be a condition. We have never been so divided in my lifetime. We cannot depend on our justice system or government. We must depend on each other. We must come together and make a difference. Until we get together with unity in our minds, we are never going to be able to come together and help make Dr. King’s dream come alive.”