The educational system must be revamped to ensure that all children are given the opportunity to succeed, Gov.-elect Chris Christie told a Martin Luther King Day interfaith breakfast in Morristown today.
Throwing money at the problem is not the answer, asserted the governor-elect, who takes office on Tuesday.
During a 20-minute speech, he contrasted the parochial school education that his children receive in Morristown and Morris Township with dismal graduation statistics from urban public school districts in New Jersey. He said "special interests" exert too much control over public schools.
If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, education reform probably would top his agenda, Chris Christie said.
The incoming governor also reflected that his late mother probably would gently remind him: Don't mess things up!
Today's event marked the 25th anniversary of Morristown's Interfaith Breakfast, and the 40th anniversary of the town's Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Committee.
A who's-who of area clergy and public officials, the breakfast at the Hyatt Morristown included a collection for earthquake relief in Haiti.
Carol Hawthorne, executive of Dayspring Ministries in Chester, said her organization is trying to get a doctor to its orphanage in Bon Repos, about 10 miles north of Port au Prince. Some people were injured at the Dayspring compound, "but most arte okay," Carol said.
The Calvary Baptist Church in Morristown also is making special collections, and at some point hopes to send members to the Haitian town of Cabaret, where the church built a well, said Sharon Dunlap, a Calvary member who has done missionary work in Haiti.
Last year, she said, a flood washed a small church off a hillside in Cabaret.
Sharon sponsors a Haitian named Bendy; she has not been able to contact the teenaged orphan since last week's devastating quake rocked the Caribbean nation.
"My heart is in Haiti," she said.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leaning on a lectern. (Circa 1964) On Sunday, at a Bapist church originally founded by freed slaves, US President Barack Obama addressed the congregation about the "Dream" of slain civil rights activist Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—whom Obama credits with paving the way for his 2008 election—and about the importance of hope and faith in his own life.

On Monday, Obama, with his family in tow, served hot lunches at a local Washington soup kitchen—one of several ways America's first black president planned to pay tribute to the late Dr. King on the federal holiday that honors his legacy and lasting impact upon society. 

Later at the White House, Obama will host a gathering consisting of small selected group of African-American seniors and their grandchildren where they will discuss the meaning of the civil rights movement and how it still effects them to this day. Following which, that evening, the Obamas are slated to attend the "Let Freedom Ring" concert at the Kennedy Center. A musical event that will feature gospel artists and choir members from various area churches among other houses of worship.

Another prominent American politician, governor-elect of New Jersey, Chris Christie held a banquet on Monday evening to honor the importance of Dr. King's message as well.  Other commemorations included a march in Seattle where participants rallied for issues in the African-American community.