Get the Countdown to MLK Day! widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)"/> " /> Plan Your MLK Day Of Service | Black Radio Network
Today's Date: March 28, 2024
Sila Moses Lake Manager Rosendo Alvarado to Speak at Big Bend Community College Building the Future Energy Workforce Event   •   MDA SPACE INCLUDED IN THE GLOBE & MAIL'S ANNUAL WOMEN LEAD HERE RANKING   •   Gale Primary Sources Release Four New Archives Devoted to Contributions from Underrecognized Communities   •   Dawson-Forté Cashmere Shareholders Sell Majority Equity Stake to Tempus Partners   •   Chevron Announces Opening of Fab Labs at HBCUs   •   80 M/other Artists Converge for MICAfest 2024 in Northampton, MA this May   •   New Report Shows Massachusetts Customers Could Have Saved Hundreds of Millions in 2024 Through Competitive Energy Supply   •   Paralyzed Veterans of America to honor former Senator Elizabeth Dole with 2024 Gordon H. Mansfield Congressional Leadership Awar   •   First Book and Ashoka Announce 15 Youth Challenge Winners in Time for Change Nationwide Initiative   •   35 National Partners Representing Over 3 Million Women Join Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation's Growing Coalition   •   Impact Communications Signs Best-Selling Book Author and Financial Advisor Coach Derrick Kinney   •   RICE Announces Strategic Leadership Additions, Cementing Its Role as the Nation's Largest Entrepreneurial Hub   •   Consolidated Credit Launches Free Webinar Series to Empower Individuals During Challenging Economic Climate   •   Terragia Secures $6M to Develop Cost-Competitive, Low-Carbon Biofuel Technology   •   Impacts of Extreme Weather on Interior Design Examined in New Research   •   Bill Introduced in Minnesota Would Increase Access To Genetic Testing   •   Argonne-Supported Critical Materials Assessment Tags Potential Supply Chain Bottlenecks   •   Scotiabank ranks on The Globe and Mail's annual Women Lead Here benchmark of executive gender diversity for the fourth consecuti   •   JAMS Diversity Fellowship Accepting Applications   •   Key Piece of “Titanic” Movie Memorabilia Purchased By Titanic Museum Attraction
Bookmark and Share

Plan Your MLK Day Of Service

 


 

 

About Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Of Service


WASHINGTON - January 17, 2011 will mark the 25th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday. This milestone is a perfect opportunity for Americans to honor Dr. King’s legacy through service. The MLK Day of Service empowers individuals, strengthens communities, bridges barriers, creates solutions to social problems, and moves us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community.

After a long struggle, legislation was signed in 1983 creating a federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The federal holiday was first observed in 1986, making 2011 the 25th anniversary of the King federal holiday.

In 1994, Congress designated the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday as a national day of service and charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with leading this effort. Taking place each year on the third Monday in January, the MLK Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service – a "day on, not a day off." . The MLK Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the President's national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems. The MLK Day of Service empowers individuals, strengthens communities, bridges barriers, creates solutions to social problems, and moves us closer to Dr. King's vision of a "Beloved Community."

Why Serve on MLK Day of Service?

Dr. King believed in a nation of freedom and justice for all, and encouraged all citizens to live up to the purpose and potential of America by applying the principles of nonviolence to make this country a better place to live—creating the Beloved Community.

On the 25th anniversary of the King Federal Holiday, we still have work to do to realize Dr. King’s dream. MLK Day of Service is the perfect time for Americans to answer Dr. King’s challenge to do something for others. Just as Dr. King set big goals and focused relentlessly on results, we need sustained citizen action to address today’s social challenges.

The MLK Day of Service is a way to transform Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and teachings into community action that helps solve social problems. That service may meet a tangible need, or it may meet a need of the spirit. On this day, Americans of every age and background celebrate Dr. King through service projects that strengthen communities, empower individuals, bridge barriers, and create solutions.
How can I serve on MLK Day?

People of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities can get involved. Just fill in your interest area and zip code in the Find a Project box to locate a volunteer opportunity in your community or plan your own project.

Learn about Dr. King

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a vital figure of the modern era and a pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement. His lectures and dialogues stirred the concern and sparked the conscience of a generation. His charismatic leadership inspired men and women, young and old, in this nation and around the world.

Following in the footsteps of his father, in February 1948, at the age of 19, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. entered the Christian ministry and was ordained at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. In 1954, upon completion of graduate studies at Boston University, he accepted a call to serve at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. While there, he was an instrumental leader in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, made famous by the nonviolent resistance and arrest of Rosa Parks. He resigned this position in 1959 to move back to Atlanta to direct the activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. From 1960 until his death in 1968, he also served as co-pastor with his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Dr. King was arrested 30 times for his participation in civil rights activities.

While Dr. King preached about justice, empowerment, love and peace, in the final months of his life, his attention was turned to fighting poverty. Sadly, more Americans live in poverty today than during Dr. King's lifetime. Forty-seven million Americans currently fall below the poverty line.

Dr. King was shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee and died on April 4, 1968. He had gone to Memphis to help lead sanitation workers in a protest against low wages and intolerable working conditions.

 


STORY TAGS: BLACK NEWS, AFRICAN AMERICAN NEWS, MINORITY NEWS, CIVIL RIGHTS NEWS, DISCRIMINATION, RACISM, RACIAL EQUALITY, BIAS, EQUALITY, AFRO AMERICAN NEWS

Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News