Many of us take a day off from work or classes on the third Monday in January to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This day has been designated a national holiday since 1983, but since 1994 it has also been designated a national day of service.
The MLK Day of Service provides an opportunity for all Americans to help bring Dr. King’s vision of a “Beloved Community” a little closer to reality by engaging in action that helps solve social problems, working against the triple evils of poverty, racism, and militarism to create a society where all people can share in the wealth of the earth, and conflicts are resolved peacefully through a mutual commitment to King’s principles, philosophy, and techniques of nonviolence.
Visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Web site to learn more about what opportunities are available in your community and how you can participate. Both the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University have service projects scheduled. The City of Denton will have a day-long celebration with the theme “Living the Dream through Words and Deeds.”
More information about Dr. King and his philosophy can be found at The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Shortly after Dr. King’s assassination, his widow Coretta Scott King established this nongovernmental, nonprofit organization to provide research, education, and training in King’s principles, philosophy, and techniques of nonviolence. The Center champions the causes of freedom, justice, and equality by working to eliminate poverty, build community, and foster peace. The Web site also includes an extensive digital archive of Dr. King’s works and papers.
Service to your community doesn’t have to be limited to one day a year! Learn more about ways you can become active in your national, state, and local community at the UNT Libraries Voting and Civic Engagement Portal.
Let’s each take some time on this special day to make a contribution to our community, keeping in mind these immortal words of Dr. King:
Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others?
Article by Bobby Griffith
