On the third Monday of every January, we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and remember his achievements as one of the most influential civil rights leaders of our time. For College Possible, this is a day of service in honor of King’s legacy. On Jan. 17, the College Possible leadership team and AmeriCorps service members began their day by watching “Your Life’s Blueprint.” King delivered this speech in 1967 to students at Barratt Junior High School (now Barratt Middle School) in Philadelphia.
In his speech, King laid out a life blueprint that includes a deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth and your own somebodiness; the basic principle of determination to achieve excellence in your field; and a commitment to beauty, love and justice.
After viewing the speech, AmeriCorps members and the leadership team broke out into groups to answer questions like: “Why do we honor Dr. King’s legacy by serving others?”, “Why is the act of serving others a mutually beneficial experience?” and “What is your favorite Martin Luther King quote and why?” During the discussion, many people brought up a quote from King’s speech, “You have a responsibility to seek to make life better for everybody.”
Our targeted reflection activities served as a reminder of the importance of our work and the shared work of others in addressing inequities in our community and country. Those efforts aren’t driven solely by a day of recognition but by our ongoing efforts the following 364 days,” said Arvin Frazier, College Possible Omaha’s Senior Executive Director.
AmeriCorps members and College Possible’s leadership team were scheduled to participate in a service project; however, due to health and safety concerns related to COVID-19, the project was postponed and will be rescheduled.
