Rather than take the holiday off, churchgoers, neighbors and volunteers from across the city gathered at a Bronx soup kitchen Monday for a day of service to honor slain civil rights hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Friendly banter and belly laughs filled the basement of the Caldwell Temple A.M.E. Zion Church in Morrisania as about 30 do-gooders of every age and race slathered mayonnaise on ham-and-cheese sandwiches and worked to clean up, paint and renovate the modest space.
“I come here to help out every week because I know what it feels like to be hungry,” said church member Dennis Kirby, 59, wielding a broom. “Dr. King wanted to see people come together for a good cause - and here we are. It feels like a blessing to me.”
The Caldwell Temple soup kitchen - open every Saturday and every other Wednesday - caters to one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country.
In his 1964 Nobel Lecture, King challenged the world to end hunger. But today more than one in five Bronx households has trouble putting food on the table, according to a recent survey.
“Martin Luther King stood for helping everybody,” said Crystelle Slappy, 14, a volunteer who trekked to the church from Queens Village, Queens. “Some people don’t have money to eat.”
King - who would have turned 83 on Sunday - with a day of service. At left, Christy Wong (left) of San Jose and Louise Johnson of San Francisco attend a celebration of the civil rights leader's life at the YerbaBuena Center for the Arts.
Around the nation: In South Carolina and Atlanta, voters' rights messages take center stage at holiday events. A5
Bay Area: Several hundred people commemorate 1965 civil rights marches with a trek through San Francisco. C1
Celebrations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life often focus on his famous “I have a dream” speech, spoken on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 1963. Americans born after Dr. King's assassination often relate to that speech as a definitive synopsis of Dr. King’s beliefs.
That speech was a realistic, positive, and uplifting expression of Dr. King's dream and vision for a renewed America. However, there was so much more to Dr. King than that one speech. Dr. King was a complex and compelling human being.
In August, 1963, there were civil rights activists who felt that the march on Washington was a watered-down, sanitized version of the kind of demonstration needed to make a stronger statement to the American government about the problems of discrimination, inequality, and racism within the society.
However, Dr. King was willing to heed the concerns of President Kennedy, who called the civil rights leader prior to the March on Washington, explaining that if the massive gathering took a negative turn, it would severely hinder efforts to push civil rights legislation through Congress.
Other celebrations across the country focused on volunteer efforts and more traditional ceremonies to celebrate King's life.
•President Obama and his family commemorated the day with a volunteer service project at a Washington, D.C., school.
The family greeted volunteers and helped build bookshelves in the school's library. Obama said there was no better way to celebrate King's life than to spend the day helping others.
•Washington is home to the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, where some braved temperatures near 30 degrees to visit the 30-foot statue of King.
Dorothy Drake, 61, and her sister, Beulah Ashby, 59, visiting from North Carolina, said they attended segregated schools and remembered not being able to eat inside certain restaurants, sitting on the back of buses and being banned from some hotels. "I woke up this morning and it gave me great joy to know that I was coming here," Ashby said. "I know it's a piece of stone, and I know it's one man, but it was just pride. Pride. Happiness."
•Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill, celebrated the holiday in Philadelphia, which has one of the nation's largest King Day celebrations.
The Bidens joined about 4,000 volunteers at Girard College to assemble and package 100,000 meals for distribution around the world by the non-profit Stop Hunger Now, said Todd Bernstein, founder and director of the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service.
•In Detroit, about 2,500 people walked in honor of King. "We're just trying to keep the tradition going so history is not lost to the future generations," said DeShaun Willingham, 39, a millwright who brought his children to the walk.
•In Iowa, Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican, told about 300 people that King's legacy is carried on by the icon's family, friends and others from the civil rights movement.
"Dr. King really led the fight against segregation, racism and injustice in this country, and he made a big difference in the lives of everyone," Branstad said.
A special focus of the 2012 Martin Luther King observance is turning it into a day of service, with numerous community projects taking place across the country, including weatherizing homes, beautifying schools, serving meals and supporting veterans and military families. By turning the observance into a day of service, we advance King's dream of economic opportunity, equality, and social justice for all.
King would have turned 83 years old on Jan. 15. Though his time with us was too brief, the wisdom of the messages he brought forth as a young man still hold today. He believed freedom was the one thing worth dying for, and ultimately, this freedom is what our veterans and our soldiers have served to protect. He believed that love could overcome hate, that justice required sacrifice, and that faith is the equalizer that surmounts all controversy.
There’s the overall King Day, set in ’83 when President Reagan signed a bill putting it in federal law. And there’s the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, established when President Clinton signed the King Holiday and Service Act of 1994. King Service Day is meant to be a day of personal action in Dr. King’s memory on or near his holiday – as its boosters say, a day on, not a day off. It’s promoted by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that also runs AmeriCorps and similar initiatives.
Last year in Philadelphia, for instance, computer professionals got together to donate used PCs to city families who lacked Internet access. In Washington, President Obama and his kids helped paint a middle school. In Des Moines, Iowa, members of Habitat for Humanity built 25 sheds for needy homeowners.
Many cities have organized King Service Day efforts. Philadelphia may be the most notable example: This year organizers expect to attract 85,000 volunteers to some 1,300 projects.
But if your city isn’t doing that, or if you don’t live in a city, you can go to the official King Service Day website (mlkday.gov), enter your Zip Code, and find projects that are asking for volunteers.
Duke University's Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration, 3 p.m. in Duke Chapel, 401 Chapel Drive, Durham. Veteran political strategist and commentator Donna Brazile will give the keynote address.
Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., 4 p.m. at the Garner Performing Arts Center, 742 W. Garner Road, Garner. Keynote speaker will be Reuben Young, secretary of the N.C. Department of Public Safety.
UNC-Chapel Hill/Community Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Banquet, 6 p.m. at Friday Center, Chapel Hill. Keynote speaker is Ambassador James A. Joseph.
Shaw University tribute, 7 p.m. at Thomas Boyd Chapel, 118 E. South St., Raleigh.
Monday
32nd Annual Martin Luther King Triangle Interfaith Prayer Breakfast, 7 a.m. at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Research Triangle Park. Keynote speaker will be Cynthia Marshall, president of AT&T of North Carolina. U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan also will speak, and Raleigh radio icon Ray "Dr. Jocko" Henderson will be honored. For the first time, the breakfast will be televised live on WRAL-TV. Doors will open at 6 a.m.
Fuquay-Varina Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, 8:30 a.m. march from Fuquay-Varina Middle on Ennis Street to St. Augusta Missionary Church, 605 Bridge St., Fuquay-Varina.
Triangle Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties will host nearly 30 community service projects to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King. Durham's Signature Project is from 9 a.m. to noon at American Tobacco Campus, Bay 7, where volunteers will help with a variety of projects, including assembly of homeless hygiene kits, computer drop-off and cleaning, book drive sorting, and writing letters and creating valentines for veterans and active military. Johnston's Signature Project is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pizazz Thrift Store, where volunteers will conduct diaper, new underwear, clothing and nonperishable food drives. Orange's Signature Project is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church, where volunteers will work on projects including assembly of health kits and clothes sorting. Wake's Signature Project is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at White Plains Children's Center, where volunteers will assemble homeless hygiene kits, sort books for a book drive, and write letters for veterans and active military. See www .unitedwaytriangle .org /mlk/ .
Dozens of organizations, churches and other groups participated in remembrance of King's Dream. But, according to Andrews, this year's grand marshals had all been living examples of that dream.
"We selected activists and advocates to lead the parade," he said. "They were chosen for all the service that they give our community, above and beyond. Each one has made a positive impact in our neighborhoods."
Added to the list of honorees was a caravan of unique, commemorative cars honoring the victims of 9-11. The caravan was led by actor Kevyn Major Howard, best known for his role as "Rafter Man" in the movie Full Metal Jacket.
Parade attendee Vincent Scott said diversity is key to realizing King's dream.
"I think the diverse crowd brings the community together. As a matter of fact, I love seeing it," he said. "Here everybody mingles together. There's the Mexican community, the black community and the Asian community. This way the cultures are going to rub off on each other."
Despite difficult economic times, Andrews plans to continue bringing the community together whenever possible, he said.
"It means the world to me to be able to keep the teachings of Dr. King alive. As for the economy, it is the difficult economic times that makes this event so important because it gives people hope," Andrews said. "A lot of people do not realize the importance of parades and special events."
The social aspect of coming together should not be underestimated, he added.
"It is really important to be united," he said. "It empowers individuals, strengthen communities, bridges barriers, create solutions to social problems, and moves us toward Dr. King's vision of a beloved community.
Maryville, Mo. —Northwest Missouri State University will honor civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events next week, including a "peace march" from the campus to the Nodaway County Courthouse in downtown Maryville.
King week activities begin Monday, Jan. 16, with a brunch at 11 a.m. in the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom. The march will follow at 12:30 p.m. Members of the Northwest community will also spend parts of the day volunteering at a local nursing home.
Monday is a federal holiday commemorating King's life and work. No classes will be held, and university offices will be closed.
Other activities include a unity celebration at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, in the Student Union Ballroom. Members of the Northwest and Maryville communities will perform poetry, songs and dances promoting the themes of peace, justice, equality and unity. Participants are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items or monetary donations for local charities.
Throughout the week, "I Have a Dream" boards will be located across the campus. The boards will highlight King's "I Have a Dream" speech and will display words describing the dreams and aspirations of Northwest students and employees.
Feeding the homeless at MUST Ministries at 55 Elizabeth Church Road in Marietta on Jan. 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Youth Speak-Out, a youth oratorical competition, will be Jan. 15 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Marietta High School located at 1171 Whitlock Ave.
An MLK Commemoration Service will be conducted 3 p.m. on Jan. 16 at Union Chapel United Methodist Church at 264 Fowler Circle in Marietta.
A MLK Day parade will happen 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., beginning at the Lockheed Credit Union at 430 Commerce Park Drive. The parade will travel north on Fairground St. and west on Roswell Rd., before ending in Marietta Square.
A gala finishes the annual celebration 7 p.m. on Feb. 4 at the Crown Plaza Hotel Atlanta-Marietta located at 1775 Parkway Place off Interstate 75 in Marietta. The Rev. Dr. F. Keith Slaughter of Nashville's American Baptist College will be the guest speaker. Dinner will be served. Violinist Brooke Alford performs. Tickets are $50 each. Checks payable to Cobb SCLC may be sent to Cathy Bailey at 2692 Sandy Plains Road, Suite A-32, in Marietta.
For more information about SCLC events, contact Rev. Dr. Cheryl Graves, SCLC chairwoman, at 770-422-3268; Dell Alford at 404-717-9161; or Charlotte Mann at 678-355-9580.
Martin Luther King, Jr., January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968 was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. King has become a national icon in the history of modern American liberalism.
A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.
In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the middle child of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. King Jr. had an older sister, Willie Christine King, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King.:76 King sang with his church choir at the 1939 Atlanta premiere of the movie Gone with the Wind.
King was originally skeptical of many of Christianity's claims. Most striking, perhaps, was his denial of the bodily resurrection of Jesus during Sunday school at the age of thirteen. From this point, he stated, "doubts began to spring forth unrelentingly".
Civil rights leader, theologian, and educator Howard Thurman was an early influence on King. A classmate of King's father at Morehouse College, Thurman mentored the young King and his friends. Thurman's missionary work had taken him abroad where he had met and conferred with Mahatma Gandhi. When he was a student at Boston University, King often visited Thurman, who was the dean of Marsh Chapel. Walter Fluker, who has studied Thurman's writings, has stated, "I don't believe you'd get a Martin Luther King, Jr. without a Howard Thurman".
With assistance from the Quaker group the American Friends Service Committee, and inspired by Gandhi's success with non-violent activism, King visited Gandhi's birthplace in India in 1959.:3 The trip to India affected King in a profound way, deepening his understanding of non-violent resistance and his commitment to America's struggle for civil rights. In a radio address made during his final evening in India, King reflected, "Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation.":135–6 African American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin had studied Gandhi's teachings. Rustin counseled King to dedicate himself to the principles of non-violence, served as King's main advisor and mentor throughout his early activism, and was the main organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin's open homosexuality, support of democratic socialism, and his former ties to the Communist Party USA caused many white and African-American leaders to demand King distance himself from Rustin.
King's main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States, which has enabled more Americans to reach their potential. He is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today. His name and legacy have often been invoked since his death as people have debated his likely position on various modern political issues.
On the international scene, King's legacy included influences on the Black Consciousness Movement and Civil Rights Movement in South Africa. King's work was cited by and served as an inspiration for South African leader Albert Lutuli, another black Nobel Peace prize winner who fought for racial justice in his country.:307–8 The day following King's assassination, school teacher Jane Elliott conducted her first "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise with her class of elementary school students in Riceville, Iowa. Her purpose was to help them understand King's death as it related to racism, something they little understood from having lived in a predominately white community.
King's wife, Coretta Scott King, followed her husband's footsteps and was active in matters of social justice and civil rights until her death in 2006. The same year that Martin Luther King was assassinated, she established the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, dedicated to preserving his legacy and the work of championing nonviolent conflict resolution and tolerance worldwide. Their son, Dexter King, currently serves as the center's chairman. Daughter Yolanda King, who died in 2007, was a motivational speaker, author and founder of Higher Ground Productions, an organization specializing in diversity training.
At the White House Rose Garden on November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor King. Observed for the first time on January 20, 1986, it is called Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Following President George H. W. Bush's 1992 proclamation, the holiday is observed on the third Monday of January each year, near the time of King's birthday. On January 17, 2000, for the first time, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was officially observed in all fifty U.S. states.[200] Arizona (1992), New Hampshire (1999) and Utah (2000) were the last three states to recognize the holiday.
J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for years had been suspicious about potential influence of communists in social movements such as labor unions and civil rights. Hoover directed the FBI to track King in 1957, and the SCLC as it was established (it did not have a full-time executive director until 1960); its investigations were largely superficial until 1962, when it learned that one of King's most trusted advisers was New York City lawyer Stanley Levison. The FBI found Levison had been involved with the Communist Party USA.: 233 The FBI feared Levison was working as an "agent of influence" over King, in spite of its own reports in 1963 that Levison had left the Party and was no longer associated in business dealings with them.:71–3[158]:70–4 Another King lieutenant, Hunter Pitts O'Dell, was also linked to the Communist Party by sworn testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). However, by 1976 the FBI had acknowledged that it had not obtained any evidence that King himself or the SCLC were actually involved with any communist organizations.
The Bureau received authorization to proceed with wiretapping from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in the fall of 1963 and informed President John F. Kennedy, both of whom unsuccessfully tried to persuade King to dissociate himself from Levison. Although Robert Kennedy only gave written approval for limited wiretapping of King's phones "on a trial basis, for a month or so",:372 Hoover extended the clearance so his men were "unshackled" to look for evidence in any areas of King's life they deemed worthy.:372–4 The Bureau placed wiretaps on Levison's and King's home and office phones, and bugged King's rooms in hotels as he traveled across the country.
