Throughout this week, the Georgetown community is celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with several events organized both on and off campus to commemorate the 50th anniversary of King’s call to justice and embrace of radical social change.
On Saturday, Jan. 19, a group of around 250 Georgetown students, faculty, and staff volunteered at the MLK Day of Service, organized by the Center for Social Justice in cooperation with the DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative. The event was selected as an official part of the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s National Day of Service.
“Each year, in honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., members of our community gather together for a day of service,” said Georgetown President John DeGioia on the occasion.
Volunteers worked in service projects in Ward 7, one of D.C.’s poorest and most socially marginalized neighborhoods. Service projects such as food preparation and elderly outreach were held in five different sites around the ward, including three elementary schools, a senior citizen home, and a recreation and community center.
“I think it was great because we didn’t go to a site and complete service ‘on’ a community,” wrote Sergio Elias Pianko (MSB ‘15), one of the site leaders for the event, in an email. “We worked with community partners to target and develop the service initiatives they felt were necessary and, by doing so, service grew organically from within the community.”
Several volunteers echoed Pianko’s sentiments.
“It was truly an exceptional experience, for it prompted me to reflect on issues such as family values, old age, and solitude,” wrote Stephania Sferra Taladrid (SFS ‘15), who volunteered at a senior residence. “The most enriching part, beyond my own narrative, was to become aware of the impact one’s actions can have; the way in which one can foster altruism, engaging with the community and embracing the legacy of Martin Luther King.”
Georgetown also hosted the 11th annual Let Freedom Ring Celebration in collaboration with the Kennedy Center on Sunday evening. The event aimed at capturing the life and legacy of MLK through musical performances influenced by King’s work and his letter written from Birmingham, Ala.
The event featured Smokey Robinson, who sang with the Let Freedom Ring Choir. As part of this annual tradition, members of the Georgetown and D.C. community joined the choir to perform at the celebration.
As one of the highlights of the evening, Georgetown awarded the 11th annual John Thompson Legacy of a Dream Award to Mary E. Brown, co-founder of the Washington, D.C. organization Life Pieces to Masterpieces. Brown has been working to improve the lives of young African American boys and men by helping them graduate from high school and transition into higher education and eventually the workforce.
“Mary Brown is a visionary who saw a need for an organization to empower young people in our nation’s capital,” said DeGioia. “We are delighted to honor her in the spirit of Dr. King for her mission to transform lives and communities right here in Washington, D.C.”
In continuation with the celebrations, students, faculty, and staff will gather in Copley Formal Lounge on Thursday evening to reflect on King’s ideas of justice and on challenges that remain unresolved.
“It’ll be a space where members of the Georgetown community can reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King’s work on their lives,” said Ricardo Ortiz, an Associate Professor in the Department of English who will be offering his own reflections on the impact of King’s work in his life.
In addition to these events, efforts have been made to include the work of MLK in Georgetown academics. More than 20 classes have incorporated the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” into their curriculum. Each one of the schools at Georgetown has at least one class that studies the letter, including the School of Foreign Service in Qatar.
“It’s such a beautifully written letter and piece of scholarship,” said Andria Wisler, executive director of the Center for Social Justice Teaching, Research, and Service. “The letter speaks to so many great topics – racial injustice, economic injustice, even health disparities.”
The week will culminate tomorrow, Jan. 25, with Zora, a one-woman performance by Georgetown alumna Yvonne Singh (COL ’82). The performance relates the life and work of folklorist, anthropologist, and author Zora Neale Hurtson to Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”thropologist, and author Zora Neale Hurtson to Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”
