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Make The MLK Holiday A Day On, Not A Day Off

Make The MLK Holiday A Day On, Not A Day Off
Next Avenue
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Screen capture from the CBS national broadcast of the 'I Have a Dream' speech of American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968), Washington, DC, August 28, 1963. King Jr. delivered his speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to over 200,000 supporters at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

SPECIAL FROM Next Avenue

By Liza Kaufman Hogan

For those wanting to do more on the upcoming three-day Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend (Jan. 17-19) than sleep in, clean house or catch up on Game of Thrones, there are many options — ones that honor the slain civil rights leader.

Depending on where you live, you can volunteer for one of numerous service projects, be part of a MLK Day march and rally, join a supper club to discuss social issues or run a MLK Day 5K, accompanied by a three-mile long drum line.

In 1994, Congress designated Martin Luther King Day as a National Day of Service, encouraging Americans to spend the day helping their communities. Since then, the number of events has grown and the Internet and email have made it easy to find and sign up for local volunteer projects. Participants now share their volunteer experiences on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (hashtag: #MLKDay2015).

The largest event of its kind, the 20th Annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, is expected to include more than 135,000 volunteers helping out at over 1,800 service projects.

Founder and director Todd Bernstein, 57, who started the annual event in 1996 with Sen. Harris Wofford (D-Pa.), says the idea was born of disappointment soon after the federal holiday started. "We talked about the irony that so many had campaigned for the federal holiday, and after all that, it was turning into another day of sleeping late and watching TV or going to the mall, especially for young people," says Bernstein. "We thought: 'Wouldn't it be great if people could rally together ... defining the needs of the community and responding through citizen action?'"

This year the Philadelphia event will mark the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act with speakers and voter registration outreach projects.

How to Find a MLK Day Project

Here are the primary web resources to find volunteer opportunities and MLK Day events in your community. The first two sites let you enter your city or ZIP code and specify the type of project you're seeking.
  • AllForGood - A national site working with the Corporation for National and Community Service and Points of Light to provide MLK Day project listings
  • VolunteerMatch - Search by date to find activities for MLK Day including virtual projects
  • Greater Philadephia MLK Day of Service - The oldest and largest MLK Day event
  • #MLKDay2015 - It's where people will post ideas, photos and project updates on Twitter throughout the holiday weekend

If you want to go somewhere more familiar, check with your church, synagogue or community center to see if it has an event planned.

My temple in Washington, D.C., for example, is hosting an open-house type volunteerapalooza — people will show up at 10 a.m. or later and pick from a variety of projects from preparing food for a local shelter to sorting clothing donations, assisting for as long as they can.

Dining and Dialogue

If you'd like to go beyond traditional volunteering and engage more deeply in a discussion of social issues, you might try attending one of the many Sunday Suppers around the country.

Points of Light, the national service organization, promotes these gatherings as a way to continue King's legacy by encouraging people to share a meal and talk in small groups about social problems and ways to address them.

Points of Light hopes 100,000 people will participate in a Sunday Supper this year and has published a guide with recipes and conversations starters to help hosts plan the gatherings.

Organizers and participants who were chatting about the Sunday Supper program on Huffington Post Live Wednesday said this type of gathering is especially pertinent this year given the recent protests over events in Ferguson, Mo. and other communities. Organizers hope that people will share a meal on Sunday and then serve together as volunteers on Monday, putting their conversations into action.

"Having good, thoughtful conversation together in community is a great way to spend your MLK day weekend. Serving is a great way to honor King's legacy and also a great way to create meaning in your life," Points of Light President Tracy Hoover said on Huffington Post. "Get out this weekend, volunteer ... together, have a great meal with people you may not see every day, and have a plan for action."

Projects For All Ages

Delores Morton, president of programs for Points of Light, says there will be many MLK Day projects to choose from, for all ages and all levels of experience.

“It's more than showing up to plant flowers" or paint a school, she says. Volunteers "can show up to help with a marketing plan or HR issues and put their professional skills to use."

And if you're not able to volunteer this weekend, says Morton, you can sign up to become a tutor or participate in ongoing projects throughout the year.

If you'd like to extend your commitment beyond January 19, consider pledging hours of service at Serve.gov, the website of the Corporation for National and Community Service and United We Serve, which is the White House initiative to support citizen volunteer efforts.

We hope you enjoy your long weekend and that if you do participate in a MLK Day-related event or volunteer, you'll tell us what you did and how it went in the comments section below.

Read more from Next Avenue:
6 ways to nudge Congress to help older Americans
How to make change work for you
9 quotes from Martin Luther King

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Before You Go

Public Figures Share Most Inspiring Thoughts On MLK
President Barack Obama(01 of11)
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"When you are talking about Dr. King's speech at the March on Washington, you're talking about one of the maybe five greatest speeches in American history. And the words that he spoke at that particular moment, with so much at stake, and the way in which he captured the hopes and dreams of an entire generation I think is unmatched." (The Huffington Post) (credit:AP)
Harry Belafonte(02 of11)
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"The spirit that Dr. King called forth was a profoundly American spirit, as was his struggle. What made me feel so good about that struggle was that it was ordinary people who were becoming empowered through his words, to realize their own possibilities. (The Guardian) (credit:AP)
Andrew Young(03 of11)
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"Freedom is a struggle and we do it together. Not only together as black citizens, but black and white together. Martin Luther King talked about a Coalition of Conscience, or a Coalition of Goodwill — people of goodwill who want to change the world for the better. I think you see evidence of that." (TIME) (credit:AP)
Bill Clinton(04 of11)
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“He was a total advocate of non-violence. He never encouraged anyone to do anything other than turn the other cheek when it came to using force. And to use the force of their convictions in marching and speaking, and singing for justice and peace…I think he would love the fact that now we have a lot of African-Americans running for office.” (Biography) (credit:AP)
Oprah Winfrey(05 of11)
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"Nothing that has happened in my life since I was 16 years old would've been possible. I wouldn't have been in radio, I wouldn't have been on television, I would have been have been who I am... I just wouldn't have the life that I have without Martin Luther King Jr. To have been a living witness to the changes his vision and his dream have brought – not just for me personally but for me personally – it really is amazing grace." (People) (credit:AP)
David Oyelowo(06 of11)
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"I don't think [King] could have as stuck ... to the theme of nonviolence and love in the face of hate if he didn't feel that command and that notion from God. His faith was the engine for what he believed in and how he acted." (Huffington Post) (credit:AP)
Forest Whitaker(07 of11)
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“Growing up, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the one photograph that every Black household had. There were little placards made out of metal stuck against the wall. You followed him because he was holding your hope. The hope that you were going to be able to live your life full with equality.” (History) (credit:Getty)
John Legend(08 of11)
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“I think he’s inspired the whole country and the world. The themes and the ideas of his movement have inspired many other movements subsequently to achieve revolutionary things through non-violence. And I think even looking at President Barack’s rise, it’s part of that fulfillment of what Dr. King dreamed about and worked for.” (Washington Post) (credit:Getty)
Eric Holder(09 of11)
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“[King would be] proud of the country he helped recreate…At the same time, I know Dr. King would not yet be satisfied. And he would be the first to remind us that –- although segregation is no longer the law of the land; although bigotry and discrimination are not as pervasive as they once were; and although a direct beneficiary of his legacy now sits in the Oval Office, and another humbly serves as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States –- even today, in 2013, our struggle to bridge divisions, to eradicate violence, and to combat disparities and disenfranchisement remains far from over. And nowhere is this clearer than in the national debate about voting rights that has captured recent headlines from coast to coast." (Huffington Post) (credit:AP)
Master P(10 of11)
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“Martin Luther King impacted a lot on me. He was a dreamer. Talking about dreaming and preparing for the future, and preparing this generation. I got a foundation called ‘Let The Kids Grow’ and it’s about the next generation. It’s about us not killing the next generation. And Martin Luther King, I feel like, paid the dues for us. We have to take our hat off to him, because we talk about ‘dream,’ that’s all I do. I come from the projects and [had] nothing, and to be able to live the lifestyle that I live now... it’s incredible to do it 24 years later.” (Sway's Universe) (credit:Getty)
Talib Kweli(11 of11)
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“The first time I remember Martin Luther King having an impact on me was in ’82. I was six or seven years old and my mother took me to D.C.—they were having a rally to create the national holiday. I know that rally couldn’t have compared to the “March on Washington” rally in ’63, but it’s still a memory from my childhood that sticks through the test of time. I remember hearing speeches from Dr. King, and especially seeing Stevie Wonder perform “Happy Birthday,” which was an incredible experience that I’ll never forget.” (VIBE) (credit:AP)
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