MLK speaker preaches unity

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Miss America 2003 Erika Harold was the speaker at Frontiers International's Martin Luther King Jr breakfast, Jan. 19, 2026 Photo: Saga Communications/Dave Dahl

Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – A one-time Miss America and two-time political candidate was today’s speaker at the Frontiers International Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast on the MLK holiday in Springfield. Urbana native Erika Harold is executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism.

“One of my favorite quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is talking about bending the arc of the moral universe toward justice, and we’ve certainly have accomplished a lot. But we still have further to go, and it’s important that people look in their community, look in their workplaces to see if people are, treated fairly and included and given greater opportunities.”

Because of her position with the high court, Harold wouldn’t comment on how closely aligned she is with the Republican Party or with President Trump today.

Harold ran unsuccessfully for Congress and for attorney general in the 2010s.

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