Martin Luther King was an activist and a leader in the African American civil rights movement. He worked to end racial segregation and discrimination between black and whites. On Monday January 16th Penn State held a day of service in honor of Martin Luther King. Students on campus signed up to volunteer and spend the entire day doing volunteer work at different locations on an off campus. Some students stayed on campus and helped clean and assist workers at Penn State. Some students went to nursing homes to assist in caring for the elderly and accompanying them for the day. There was also a blood drive being held at the HUB that many people also participated in. Students where passing out flyers and recruiting other students to donate blood. Students of all different races and backgrounds participated in the day of service. Many new friendships and bond where made with different people who would have never thought they had so much in common and could relate to so many things.
It was great to see this type of civic engagement from the students at our school. It is common for people to only befriend their own “kind” or feel as if they have nothing in common with someone of a different race or lives a different type of life, and they do not take the time out to actually get to know them. The idea that we all served in honor of someone who spent most of his live trying to improve the relationship between blacks and whites in our country made me proud to have participated in the day of service. This civic engagement brought our campus closer at allowed people to recognize what Martin Luther King fought for and how much of an impact he has made on our communities today.
I absolutely agree that it's awesome to see such a diverse group of people getting together for a common cause, it's exactly what MLK was all about! I think the way MLK day happened here at Penn State really shows just how effective his actions were: many people choose to honor his day with service, which I think is what he would want people to do with their day "off." It's cool that this holiday has an actual focus, and is celebrated in line with the ideals of the person it honors.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Sam; it's a brilliant time to bring people together. MLK day should be used as an opportunity to develop our community without the hope of getting anything back..financially. This is what Martin Luther King stood for. The United States has done well to acknowledge MLK; he fought hard for equality.
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