Alabama House Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, told a packed Great Hall at Birmingham-Southern College that there is work to do to fulfill the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Not only is our Black history under attack, but our most fundamental right that is allowed to us under the Constitution – our right to vote – is under attack,” Givan said at the 38^th annual Unity Breakfast in celebration of the slain civil rights leader. “But I say to you, they don’t have to take it because we don’t utilize it. We still have to have a reason to go vote.

“Our fundamental right to vote is under attack where there is an attempt to say that Black voters don’t matter,” Givan said. Almost 500,000 Blacks in Alabama are not registered to vote. “We need to be getting folks registered to vote. But not only registered to vote, we need to ensure that they vote. If you do not vote, you do not have a voice.”

The state representative, who is running for a seat in Congress from the newly redrawn District 2 in south Alabama, said the hard work and perseverance of leaders on issues such as social justice have opened a few doors for Blacks.

“We received a seat at the table so much so that, my people, we thought we had overcome because we were able to move on up to the eastside,” she said, borrowing from ‘70s sitcom “The Jeffersons.” “But we forgot about those on the westside. Our communities are poverty stricken. Environmental (in)justice plagues our neighborhoods. Blight and distress plague our communities. We need more voices at our tables.”

Givan said many communities are marginalized and continue to struggle.

“We continue to be oppressed, suppressed, depressed and repressed,” she said. “Our communities are drowning in the weight of violence, hate, poverty, racism. classism, socialism, and yes to my Black brothers and sisters, colorism. We hate on each other. We don’t need that.

“We need to do more for our Black and brown in this country,” Givan added. “Our Black and brown matter. Everybody can’t be from Hoover, Alabama, and drive a Mercedes Benz and come from an upper echelon pedigree.”

The keynote speaker said it is imperative that the progress and the sacrifices not be forgotten.

“We must not forget that our people have struggled and fought for equality for too long to only come as far as we have,” she said. “To realize the dream, we must … remain on a path of righteousness. It will take a strong leader to bring us to full realization of King’s dream.”

BSC’s Great Hall was packed for Monday’s event, and overflow seating was set up in the Norton Campus Center one floor down.

Before Givan’s speech, BSC President Daniel B. Coleman spoke to the group and quoted from King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail. He cited the civil rights leader’s disappointment that white moderates had not boldly taken up the fight for civil rights.

“It took this institution a couple of years to get the message,” Coleman said. “But … many of our students or faculty and even our president stood up for civil rights. We had a student, Marty Turnipseed, who participated in the sit-in at Woolworths and was put in jail. Other students joined students from Miles College marching downtown to join the protests.

“As an institution, we’ve come a long way. As a city, I’m a native of this city, we’ve also come a long way,” the president said. “But no doubt our community still has a long way to go before we realize the dreams laid out.

“Today, as we celebrate Dr. King’s life and legacy, Birmingham-Southern is proud to be your host and we look forward to working with you all to make our home, our community, a place where Dr. King’s dreams become a reality.”