Arthur "Pappy" Kennedy Prayer Breakfast

Commemorate the legacies of Civil Rights pioneers

The annual Arthur “Pappy” Kennedy Prayer Breakfast celebrates the lives and achievements of Arthur Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Arthur “Pappy” Kennedy was Orlando’s first African American City Council Member, taking the oath of office in 1973 and serving two terms until 1980. Pappy was an advocate of higher education, and he served as the organizer of the Orlando Negro Chamber of Commerce, President of the Jones High School Parent-Teacher Association, and was instrumental in the organization of the Orange County Parent-Teacher Council. With the goal of improving his community, he worked with many organizations including Meals on Wheels, the United Negro College Fund, and the NAACP. Although Pappy Kennedy passed away in 2000, his legacy lives on in our Central Florida community.

This event is hosted each year by the Southwest Orlando Jaycees, the City of Orlando’s Martin Luther King Commission, and the YMCA of Central Florida. For more than three decades, the prayer breakfast brings together hundreds of civic leaders, pastors, and Central Florida neighbors together in faith, prayer, and the shared commitment to strengthen our community and improve lives.