Obama announces MLK Day as National Service Day
February 14, 2012
By Emma Aberle-Grasse
Martin Luther King changed the history of our country with his hope for humanity. Through tremendous injustice and hate, King promoted the justice and love he believed in. To acknowledge and honor him, the United States devotes Jan. 16 to this great leader. Congress officially named Martin Luther King Day a national day of service in 1994, led by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Although King is appropriately remembered and respected, his overall message sometimes gets lost. Yes, his major focus was fighting for the civil rights of African Americans in the United States, but he also spoke out against the Vietnam War, the rights of women and peace and justice for everyone. King fought against the injustices of his time and dreamt for the continuation of that fight. When King wrote “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” in his letter from Birmingham jail, he was speaking of all injustices. We have to remember to fight against the injustices today, against gays and lesbians and against the poor and homeless.
In Dr King’s famous “Drum Major” sermon, he expresses that we don’t need everyone to be big, courageous leaders; we need supportive and loving community members. I think community service is an important way to honor Dr King. If we all take one day out of the year to remember that there is still injustice happening in our country and commit to giving our service we can make dreams such as Dr King’s come true.
The Southerner intends for this area to be used to foster healthy, thought-provoking discussion. Comments are expected to adhere to our standards and to be respectful and constructive. Furthermore, we do not permit any of the following inappropriate content including: Libel or defamatory statements, any copyrighted, trademarked or intellectual property of others, the use of profanity and foul language or personal attacks. All comments are reviewed and approved by staff to ensure that they meet these standards. The Southerner does not allow anonymous comments, and requires a name and valid email address submitted that are variable. This email address will not be displayed but will be used to confirm your comments. Online comments that are found in violation of these policies will be removed as quickly as possible.
If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a gravatar.