Pastor Billie Cox of Macedonia Baptist Church, the keynote speaker at the Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce and the Rockdale Branch of the NAACP breakfast honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, Jan. 19, at Longhorn, threw down a challenge to attendees to get beyond their comfort zones and reach out and mentor the young and at risk.

She spoke about the dream of equality that Dr. King eloquently described and challenged attendees, "Are we there yet?"

"I know there are great things going on in our city and our county... but where are the black males that need to be in the schools mentoring students? Is the dream still alive? Or did it die with Martin?"

"If I think about the map of redistricting... how do you put the back of inter-generational poverty and the flow of funds in the county don't go across the railroad tracks... When I look at names in the jail log... None of these people I named from the jail blotter came up with a dream of being a criminal... but life happens, unless there's some "I have to wonder if anybody stopped to tell them about the dream?"

"Sometimes dysfunction is so dysfunctional... they have to find the reality of life in mentors and other postitive people in the community."

She challenged attendees, asking what happens "if we stay behind our well manicured lawns, behind our three-car garages, and we never let the garages up, and when we do let it up we say 'Don't walk on my grass' instead of 'How are you doing today, son?'"

"Does anybody care about the dream? Does anybody care about their dreams? Or did we just come here today to network, eat grits and go home?"

The Pastoral Accountability to Covenant Truth, a local pastors' network, was going to watch "Selma" at the Conyers Carmike movie theater later at 1 p.m. and she invited those who wanted to continue the discussion to join them.

Proceeds from the 11th annual event will be donated to United Way in Rockdale to benefit programs in Rockdale County.

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