Young civil rights activist Thomas Gaither needed to pick up some Freedom Riders from the McComb, Miss. bus station in 1961, so he rented a car.

He got a shiny 1961 red and white Chevrolet from Hertz.

When a mob of people protesting the Freedom Riders descended upon them, the riders had just enough time to jump in the car and lock the doors before brass knuckles started beating on the windshield.

Gaither began driving the rented car toward a traffic light while the mob followed. The light stayed green for him.

Gaither, now a biology professor at Slippery Rock University, brought his personal accounts of the civil rights movement during the 1960s to the annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast on Monday morning.

The Butler County Unity Project and the American Association of University Women sponsored the breakfast attended by about 85 people at the YWCA.

"This is the highlight of the year for the Unity Project," said Kate Fulmer from the Unity Project. She said this is the first year her Butler group has had someone with personal experience in the civil rights movement speak at the breakfast.

Gaither talked about his experiences, including meeting Rev. King and spending some time in jail.

As a student at Clafton College, Gaither said he was arrested for simply walking on the street near the city's courthouse. So many people were arrested that day the city had to create a make-shift jail.

Later in his life, his arrest that day made him "morally unfit" for military service.

Gaither said when Americans remember King, they think of his "I Have Dream" speech and ask how far the country has come in realizing the dream.

"For many, the dream has historically been a nightmare, and is still a nightmare," Gaither said.

Renay Scales, assistant vice president of human resources and diversity at SRU, spoke about how King's dream applied to her life.

"I have been able to live pieces of the dream and experience struggles where the dream is not yet realized," Scales said.

She was the one of first to integrate her junior and senior high schools. She and her siblings all were able to earn advanced degrees, and she helped a black man run for Congress in her home district.

Still, there is work to be done. She cited the response to Hurricane Katrina as an example of where more civil rights work could be done.

Scales reminded the audience that celebrating King's life by continuing his work shouldn't end now.

"Whatever you do to keep the dream alive, don't stop now," Scales said. "In fact, we could kick it up a notch or two."

Butler Mayor Maggie Stock also issued the first proclamation of her term. She made Monday Unity Project Day in Butler, commending the project for its five years of service.