Athens, Ga. – U.S. Rep. David Scott will be the keynote speaker for the 11th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast Jan. 17 at 7:30 a.m. in the Grand Hall of the Tate Student Center on the University of Georgia campus.
Sponsored by UGA, the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government and the Clarke County School District, the MLK Freedom Breakfast commemorates the life of the late civil rights leader. This year’s theme is “The Power of the Dream: Our Unmeasured Strength and our Unbounded Spirit.”
Along with Scott’s address, recipients of the President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award will be recognized at the event, which has averaged more than 600 attendees in recent years. The award highlights the work of local citizens who have made significant efforts to build bridges of unity and understanding as they strive to make King’s dream of equality and justice a reality.
Scott was elected to the U.S Congress in 2002. He is currently in his sixth term representing Georgia’s 13th Congressional District, which includes six counties around metro Atlanta: Cobb, Clayton, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton and Henry.
Scott serves on the Financial Services Committee, Agriculture Committee and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. His work in Congress has led to the passage of several laws including student loan repayment assistance for law students who become public prosecutors and defenders. He helped add Father’s Day to the U.S. Flag Code as a day of special significance.
Scott sits on the board of the Dean Rusk Center for International Law and Policy at UGA. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha (Beta Nu), a Mason and a member of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta Inc. He received a “Trumpet Award” in 2008, the Urban League’s “Congressional Leadership Award” in 2010 and has been recognized by Georgia Trend magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential Georgians” in multiple years.
Scott received a bachelor’s degree from Florida A&M University in 1967. He received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1969.
Scott began his political career in 1972 by working on Andrew Young’s congressional campaign. In 1974, he was elected as a Georgia state representative, where he served from 1975 to 1982. As state representative, he authored laws on gun safety, including a law creating background checks for gun purchases. He also authored legislation to make it a felony to knowingly sell or provide a firearm to a child or minor and to hold parents and guardian responsible for keeping their firearms away from children. Scott worked to create PeachCare, the health insurance program for children.
In 1982, Scott was elected as a Georgia state senator, where he served from 1983 to 2002. In the Senate, he helped create laws on having a moment of silence for reflection or prayer in Georgia’s public schools, to limit and restrict landfills in residential neighborhoods and to provide sex education and AIDS prevention instruction in Georgia public schools.
Scott is married to Alfredia Aaron Scott. Their family includes two daughters, Dayna and Marcye; two grandchildren, Kimani and Kaylin; son-in-law Kwame; and brother-in-law Hank Aaron.
Tickets for the MLK Freedom Breakfast are $20 and $160 for tables of eight. Tickets will not be sold the day of the event. To order tickets, see http://diversity.uga.edu/.
