JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dr. Mae Jemison, a world famous physician and astronaut, was the keynote speaker at the 22nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast. The event dedicated to improving race relations in Jacksonville took place on Friday, just days before the inauguration of the nation's first black president.
Jemison talked about President-elect Barack-Obama. Her accomplishments have given her an interesting perspective, and she shared some her thoughts about society, young and the recent presidential election.
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"A lot of times people think in terms of firsts, but it isn't about firsts," Jemison said. "It's about the fact that society has figured out how to include and use everyone for their talents. There are many people who are talented. It's not like I was the first woman of color who had the ability, the talent, the desire to go into space just like Barack Obama is not the first African-American to be there."
She said to her change is more than a campaign slogan.
"As adults we have to change because the children that are in our immediate vicinity, they learn from us," she said. "The first thing we need to do is repair K-12 education ? We made a commitment to build prisons. We figured out how to do that; and it seems to me like it's a shame that we haven't made a commitment to education in the same way."
Her talk on what people can do to improve society was well received.
"I thought her speech was excellent. She talked about the future, change and she gave us positive ways that we can effect that change," said attendee Sandra Thompson.
About 1,500 people attended this year's MLK breakfast at the Prime Osborne Convention Center.