Tuesday, January 20, 2015
On MLK Day, roll up sleeves and go to work for social justice
“Our goal is to create a beloved community, and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.”
Fifty-nine years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose achievements and character America honors today, outlined that plan to build beloved communities across the United States. They would serve as a final leg in the journey of oppressed and disadvantaged Americans once the obstacles of violence, hatred and discrimination were banished.
Though such social ills have not been cleared totally from the American landscape, as heightened tensions between police and minority communities over the past year vividly illustrate, great progress has nonetheless been achieved. Today’s holiday provides opportunities for millions of Americans and thousands of Mahoning Valley residents to advance King’s admirable community cause.
After all, today is not designed merely to be a mindless day off from work. According to national MLK Day organizers and a 1994 congressional proclamation, the holiday is a “day on” to build stronger communities. The MLK Day of Service also is a part of United We Serve, President Obama’s national call-to-service initiative.
Commendably, the Mahoning Valley is answering that call.
HOW TO MARK HOLIDAY
For example, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. is sponsoring a day of community cleanup open to any and all willing volunteers. From 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today, Day of Service troupers will roll up their sleeves at and near Taft Elementary School on the South Side to address 11 severely blighted vacant homes that are in the direct path of children’s walk to school by boarding the structures and clearing the properties of debris. Not only are these properties unsightly, they have become sites for gang activity, drug use and other criminal acts, the YNDC notes.
At the same time at the stately First Presbyterian Church in downtown Youngstown, a traditional staple of the holiday will unfold with the annual community workshop sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Planning Committee of Mahoning County. This year’s workshop will revolve around the topic, “Civil Rights 50 Years Later: Remembering What is Civil and Doing What is Right.” From 8:30 a.m. to noon there, participants will address and brainstorm ways to respond to King’s challenge to fight for justice and rid the world — and our little piece of it in the Valley — of economic disparities.
Participants are asked to bring nonperishable food items to donate to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, as part of the national crusade to make a tangible difference this day in the fight against poverty and social injustice. Nationwide on the 2014 Day of Service, more than 360,000 people received emergency food, more than 58,000 children benefited from tutoring and mentoring aid, and 15,000 other disadvantaged individuals received job training skills.
ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES
Of course, area residents do not need an organized activity to mark this National Day of Service and to make a positive difference in their community. Give a ride to shut-in. Provide a random act of kindness to a neighbor. Volunteer time and service to the Rescue Mission on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Youngstown. The possibilities are indeed endless.
By vowing to actively serve our communities in need today, Valley residents can start a habit that will grow and bear fruit all year long. It is one of King’s many noble dreams for justice, equality, fairness and decency that Americans from all walks of life should resolve to embrace and actively advance today.