MLK Breakfast Highlights Progress, Need For More - KAUZ-TV: Newschannel 6 Now | Wichita Falls, TX

The 24th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer/Scholarship Breakfast raised money for scholarships while also raising awareness about equality.

"We have not kept up the struggle, we have allowed the struggle to wane," said keynote speaker Missouri Congressman and former Wichita Falls resident Emanuel Cleaver II. "And I'm not saying things haven't gotten better, they have."

Congressman Cleaver pointed to strides made in civil rights, including electing an African-American President and even his own successes in politics. However, he stressed that the fight is not yet over.

The MLK Breakfast raises scholarship money for Texoma youth who see college as a way to better themselves and their communities.

"It was really heartwarming to think, all the work I had put in to get this scholarship, paid off in a big way," said Austin Murphy, Midwestern State University freshman and one of the 17 scholarship winners.

Murphy said he was nominated for the scholarship and then also had to apply. The biggest part, he said, was an essay about how he planned to better his community after college. Murphy hopes to join the Marines after college and serve the country as an officer.