Renowned Civil Rights Attorney Preston Tisdale Featured Speaker at 1st Annual MLK Day Breakfast Jan. 19

BRANFORD, CT — Renowned civil rights Attorney Preston Tisdale will be the featured speaker at the 41st annual MLK Day Breakfast on Jan. 19, 2026 at Branford High School.

Sponsored by the MLK Heritage Foundation and Branford Public Schools, the breakfast has become an annual tradition, bringing together hundreds of community members for an incredible morning of food, music, and inspiration.

Sponsored by MLK Heritage Foundation, Branford Schools, the breakfast brings together hundreds for a morning of food, music, inspiration.

As a long-time public defender and President of the Public Justice Foundation, Mr. Tisdale has dedicated his life to standing up to injustice. A partner at Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, he has fought in the courts against bias, discrimination and oppression, and has served on the boards of multiple civic organizations that aid the less fortunate, including the Fairfield County Community Foundation and the Bridgeport Public Education Fund. He is also a recipient of the NAACP Distinguished Service Award.

Mr. Tisdale’s speech at the 2026 MLK Breakfast is entitled, “Now Is the Time to Take a Stand,” and will address the need to step forward and not turn away in the face of increasing uncertainty, he said.

“Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood,” said Tisdale, quoting Dr. King. “Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.”

With tickets just $20, $5 for students, the MLK Day Breakfast promises to be an evocative morning.

What’s in store:

· A full breakfast prepared by the BHS Culinary Arts program and Branford Rotary. Eggs, grits, bacon sausage, pancakes, coffee, tea, biscuits and more!

· Songs by the award-winning Branford High School Music Makers, as well as music by XX, YY, ZZ.

· Community – people come from Branford and beyond to talk, laugh and get to know each other. It’s a chance to gain new perspectives, and meet strangers who become friends.

“There is nothing in Branford quite like the MLK Breakfast,” said Mary Fitz-Perry, President of the MLK Heritage Foundation, which co-hosts the event. “To see more than 250 people, from all ages and backgrounds, get together and genuinely talk to each other is a marvelous thing.”

“Branford Public Schools is honored to partner with the MLK Heritage Foundation for this year’s annual breakfast,” said Superintendent Chris Tranberg. “This event brings out the very best in our community, students, educators, and residents coming together to celebrate the enduring legacy of Dr. King.”

Begun in 1985 at the small AME Zion Church in Branford, the breakfast has grown to become an important annual event on the holiday calendar, attracting politicians and dignitaries from across the state. Past speakers include Pulitzer Prize winning author Jeffrey Stewart; Jane Elliott, creator of the famed Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes study; CT U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts; and author and criminal justice advocate Chris Wilson.

The breakfast also spawned the MLK Heritage Foundation, which now holds events throughout the year, including the groundbreaking ‘Meals for the Mind’ - bi-monthly evenings where 10 strangers from different backgrounds - whether cultural, racial, ideological, or generational – share a meal and simply get to know each other.

For more information, visit MLKHeritage.org.

Get tickets here.