At its yearly Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project honored 45 high school seniors with college scholarships and a send-off from House of Representative Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black leader of any party in Congress.
The renowned community event, now in its 32nd year, was held in the Miami Beach Convention Center’s grand ballroom this past Saturday. Though typically held on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day itself, the scholarship breakfast was pushed back a couple of days as a result of this year’s holiday coinciding with President Donald Trump’s Monday inauguration.
Amid the bustle and excitement for the 2025 scholarship honorees and inductees, minds eventually turned to Trump’s looming return to office. Some wondered what the new president might do in his first 100 days.
Rep. Frederica Wilson, founder of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, spoke about the ability that Congress has to limit Trump’s power.
“We are an immigrant-rich community, and we need to protect our immigrants because right now, immigrants are under siege from this administration,” she told The Miami Times.
Though there are many fears around this new administration’s plans, Wilson says the president cannot enact his agenda right away:
“That’s a lie. But he can start planning to do it. By the time he gets to the point that he can actually do it, we can flip the Senate and flip the House.”
The 5000 Role Models vision
Sunday’s celebrations, however, were not clouded by the new president’s arrival.
Many know the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project to preach platitudes on trust, mentorship and perseverance. Wilson Scholar Ithamar Timothee of William H. Turner Technical Arts High School said in his remarks, “We are recipients of the vision.”
He was referring to a vision for Miami-Dade’s young men held by Wilson, who is also the namesake of the scholarship.
This is Wilson’s initiative since 1993, when the nonprofit organization began as the 500 African American Role Models of Excellence, connecting mentors with Black boys and opening them to options they hadn’t considered before.
Wilson Scholar Tyreek Bryant, who will graduate from Miami Carol City Senior High this year, delivered the role models affirmation — a series of inspirational phrases that gave the crowd of hundreds reason to applaud.
“We know that doing well in the schoolhouse is better than being locked up in the jailhouse,” Bryant said. “The only BMW we need is a Bold Mind Working.”
Celebrating the journey
Dressed in the infamous red ties and black blazers, the scholars shook the hands of each mentor and role model judge before receiving their commemorative medallions. NBC 6 Anchor Jawan Strader, one of four event toastmasters said, “These medallions signify their journey into manhood.” Scholars stood before the men they could grow up to be, visualizing their future.
“It’s a magical tie,” Rep. Wilson told The Miami Times. “When you put that tie on them and that long-sleeve white shirt, and they look up and they see a man with that same tie, it’s like they change,” she said.
In addition to role models, the honorees introduced at the ceremony and 2025 inductees into the program were recognized for their community work. North Miami Beach Mayor Michael Joseph, North Miami Mayor Alix Desulme, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, III, Lawyer and CEO Ron Book, Miami-Dade Commission Vice Chairman Kionne McGhee, and Ark of the City founders Terry and Sherria Elliot all received Rep. Wilson’s commemorative plaques. Role model inductees included Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Terron Armstead and four members of the Florida Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys.
Establishing mentorship
Rep. Wilson said she is proud of the relationships and brotherhood that 5000 Role Models facilitates, which helps keep young boys in Miami-Dade Public Schools instead of becoming drop-outs.
The initiative is also now repeated in Pinellas, Broward and Duval counties as well as Detroit and Los Angeles. As a result, Wilson is filled with success stories between the various schools’ principals and students. She says one principal told her that before the program came to their school, “If they didn’t play football or didn’t play basketball, they would drop out. Once the role models came, they all graduated.”
When the more defiant boys knew she was running the program, many changed their tune, Wilson said.
“They would actually say to their boys … ‘If you don’t stop, I’m going to tell Ms. Wilson.’ They just didn’t want to disappoint me because they knew I was pouring so much love into them,” she said.
The boys who will soon leave the program sat at the breakfast’s head table and watched Rep. Jeffries speak. Some of the previous speakers include movie mogul Tyler Perry, rapper Rick Ross, Congressman John Lewis and actor Omari Hardwick.
MLK’s legacy continued
Jeffries pointed out the dreams that Martin Luther King, Jr. had for young men and acknowledged the unique barriers the civil rights activist faced:
“The young man goes down and delivers a trial sermon … someone from the search committee calls him and says ‘Young man, you delivered a great sermon. We think you’re going to be an incredible preacher, just not at this church.’”
That closed door allowed other doors to open, which led him to preach in Montgomery, Alabama, instead.
“We may never have gotten to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and God knows where we would be right now. The Lord works in mysterious ways,” Jeffries continued.
To the minority leader, there are obstacles faced only when you start reaching higher. He encouraged the boys to stick with what they had learned.
“Here’s why this program is so transformational — because whenever you hit that turbulence in life, what often happens is that there’s going to be some folks around you who will doubt your ability to make it through,” Jeffries asserted. “But what Dr. King’s journey would say to us is that you’ve got to dismiss the doubters and keep marching towards your dream,” he said.
In Dr. King’s words, “press on” was the theme.
As the congressman finished his speech with blessings for the nonprofit, he made his positions clear: “Press on for our dreamers … press on for racial justice … press on for reproductive freedom,” and the list went on.
This story was produced by The Miami Times, one of the oldest Black-owned newspapers in the country, as part of a content sharing partnership with the WLRN newsroom. Read more at miamitimesonline.com.
