Oregon Volunteers
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Tool Kit Insert
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WHO WAS DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia
on January 15, 1929 to Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and
Alberta Williams King. Growing up with two siblings, King was
very involved in his church choir. He excelled at school,
enrolling at Morehouse College at age fifteen. After his
graduation in 1948, he enrolled in Crozer Theological
Seminary, earning a Bachelor of Divinity in 1951. He went on
to earn his PhD from Boston University in systematic theology.
On June 18, 1953, King married Coretta Scott. The couple then
moved to Montgomery, Alabama so that King could become
the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in September of
the following year. The Kings had four children: Yolanda
Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott and Bernice Albertine.
Soon after moving to Montgomery, Dr. King became one of the
main leaders of the American civil rights movement.
In 1955, King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was sparked by Rosa Parks’ refusal
and subsequent arrest when she would not give up her bus seat to a white man – a statute under
the Jim Crow laws. The boycott, which lasted 381 days, ended with a US Supreme Court decision
to outlaw segregation on public transportation. In 1957, King played a large role in the founding
of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a group advocating for the organization of
black churches to lead non-violent protests for civil
reforms. King, who was inspired by Gandhi in his
methods of nonviolent civil disobedience, traveled to
India to visit the Gandhi family in 1959. This
experience deepened his understanding and resolve
to use nonviolent resistance. King continued to organize
and lead marches for blacks’ right to vote,
desegregation, labor rights and others, the most
famous being the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs
and Freedom during which King delivered his “I Have
a Dream” speech. Many of these rights were
successfully enacted into US law with the passage of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act
of 1965. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in
Memphis, TN where he was taking part in a march to support higher wages and better treatment
for black workers.
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WHEN DID MLK DAY BECOME A NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE?
The King Center was founded in 1968 by Coretta Scott
King following the death of her husband. In 1969, the year after
Dr. King’s assassination, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for
Nonviolent Social Change sponsored the first annual observance
of Dr. King’s birthday and called for nationwide
commemorations. This observance became the model of
subsequent annual commemorations, setting the tone of
celebrating Dr. King’s life, education in his teachings and
nonviolent actions to carry forward his unfinished work. However,
it was not until 1973 that the first state King Holiday bill was
signed into law in Illinois and not until 1983 that President
Reagan signed the bill into US law. This bill stated that every
third Monday in January would be Martin Luther King, Jr.
National Holiday, beginning in 1986.
The National Holiday became a National Day of Service
when President Bill Clinton signed the King Holiday and Service
Act into law on August 23, 1994. A National Day of Service is a specific day each year that
challenges Americans nationwide to participate in service activities. Pennsylvania US Senator
Harris Wofford and Georgia Congressman John Lewis co-authored the federal legislation that
challenges Americans to transform the King Holiday into a day of citizen action through volunteer
service in Dr. King’s honor. Today the holiday is also celebrated in US military installations and is
observed by local groups in more than 100 other nations.
Æ Why is His Birthday a National Day of Service?
Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday was chosen as a National Day of Service to
celebrate and honor the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing
to America. Each year, the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity,
humility and service that Dr. King embodied are commemorated through the acts of
service performed across the United States and world. It is a day that reminds us of
the social justice that Dr. King worked for and demands that we too take action as
Dr. King did. No other day of the year brings so many diverse individuals together
of all races and backgrounds to serve their fellow man.
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PROJECT IDEAS
There are thousands of service projects implemented each year in honor of Dr. King. A few
examples of projects that truly embody the principles Dr. King stood for are listed below:
@ Make presentations to school groups about the life and work of Dr. King followed
by working with the youth to coordinate a drive. Have the youth help in the
planning and implementation of the project – from selecting the charity to benefit
to coordinating the drive (whether it be food or clothing or books) to delivering the
goods.
@ Repaint a school gymnasium in need of a facelift. Create a mural along on the
walls that depicts a message of nonviolence and social justice.
@ Host an event where local artists of all ages can submit artwork in any medium that
depicts one of the tenets of Dr. King’s work. On MLK Day, hold an open house for
the artwork to be displayed and invite the community. Invite a keynote speaker to
the event to spark conversation about what needs should be addressed in the
community.
@ Build a community garden in a low-income neighborhood with the assistance of
residents of all ages. Create inter-generational work teams for each task and have
a guest speaker come during lunch to facilitate a discussion where the older
generation can share their firsthand experiences and knowledge of social justice
and the struggle of civil rights.
REGISTER YOUR PROJECT
As soon as you have established the essential who/what/where/why/when details of your
project, register it on line by going to www.mlkday.org. From here, you will find a link to register
your project and include details about the scope of your project, when and where it will take
place, how many volunteers you need and your contact information. Then, when interested
volunteers read about your project, they can sign up right on line! Registering your project on
www.mlkday.org is a great way to gain more publicity as well, because the website is truly the
hub of information for this National Day of Service. It also helps to let other groups know what
you’re doing so that they can get ideas and identify other community needs that should be met.
Lastly, the MLK website is a great resource for ideas and tools specific to MLK Day.
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ADDITONAL RESOURCES
The following resources are ones not easily found through an on line search. Click on the
titles to download them.
1) Anthony Welch and Julie Chavez Rodriguez issue paper “Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar E.
Chavez: Legacies of Leadership and Inspiration for Today’s Civic Education.”
2) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service: Service-Learning Curriculum
3) Tom Terez article “Lessons in Greatness from the Life of Dr. King”
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS? CONTACT US!
Mail : P.O. Box 751-CSC, Portland OR 97207
Visit: 633 SW Montgomery, Room 210
Phone: (503) 725-5903
Toll-free: (888) 353-4483
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.oregonvolunteers.org