LYNN – Colorblindness – the dream for America made famous by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – was the focus of a community observance Monday in honor of the slain civil rights leader.Forty-five years ago, King stood before the Lincoln Memorial monument in the nation’s capital and introduced what then seemed a radical concept, that children of all colors would some day walk hand-in-hand.”We still have the unfinished business of race relations,” said the Rev. William C. Hill, keynote speaker at the 22nd annual breakfast, which filled the gymnasium at North Shore Community College (NSCC).Hill, pastor of the Zion Baptist Church on Adams Street Extension, voiced what he described as a 911 emergency call to the nation, advocating changes to ensure a rosier future for children of color.”I’m putting in an emergency call this morning,” he said. “The challenge is that we must face the unfinished business of providing our children with the pathways to the best possible future.”The pastor praised Lynn for its open-mindedness. “This city is a great mosaic of diversity. We must see all the children of this city as our children,” he said, adding that for the first time in U.S. history a generation of children is not doing as well as their parents.U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney, among the many dignitaries in attendance, echoed Hill’s call for action, noting that over the past eight years in America, the children of white parents also have felt the impact of lost income, rising prices and lesser opportunities.”The educational system is still leaving children behind,” Tierney said.The congressman acknowledged King’s many accomplishments. “It’s hard to picture the civil rights movement without him at the helm,” he said, recalling the tumultuous era when women like Rosa Parks had to fight to ride on buses with white people, civil rights leaders were slain in Mississippi, and black girls were heckled for attempting to attend white schools.Tierney reminded the audience that Congress in 1994 voted to create a holiday in King’s honor, a special day “to bring people together who might not otherwise be.”Despite the successes in race relations, “We have a lot more work to do for justice,” he said.State Sen. Thomas McGee, Mayor Edward Clancy Jr., longtime community activist and educator Virginia Barton, and newly-elected School Committee member Maria Carrasco, all shared the podium to reaffirm King’s dream.King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech remains powerful, but more so “is the power of the man and the power of his vision for the future,” McGee said.Barton said the annual observance of King’s birthday started many years ago at the former Community Minority Cultural Center (CMCC) headquarters on Sutton Street. These were small gatherings for teaching minority children about King and his work, typically ending with a birthday party. Hundreds attended Monday’s breakfast, which included a performance by the Lynn English Gospel Choir; a video honoring King and created in honor of the late Tashieka Davis, 18, of Lynn, an artistic young woman who died in an automobile collision last month; and the presentation of three awards to individuals who have reflected the civil rights leader’s spirit.The CMCC, in conjunction with the NSCC chapter of the National Coalition Building Institute, honored Dolly Tennell, Claire Jackson and Alma Kallon. Pamela Nolan Young, human resources director at the college, presented the awards.Tennell worked for 23 years at the Greater Lynn Mental Health and Retardation Association. Jackson was a NSCC professor 14 years in the Mental Health Department and is a crisis counselor at North Bay Ridge Hospital. Kallon worked at Greater Lynn Mental Health for many years and is now employed by Turning Point. Combined, the women have more than 50 years of service.