MLK Day the ADP Way: 2014 MLK Day Commemorations on Campus

By Caitlin Reilly, Program Associate, American Democracy Project

We asked our campuses about how they chose to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and the results are in!  Read about how they celebrated the holiday, ADP style.

California State University of Pennsylvania held a day of service and sent two busses full of students to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in Washington, D.C.

Jacksonville State University (Ala.) organized a series of events on the days following MLK Day.  On Tuesday, January 21, 2014 the local NAACP president, David Baker addressed students and faculty.  His talk “A Good Time to Stand Up” addressed the importance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s activism and its place in contemporary issues of social justice and change.  The following night, the school hosted a screening of the film, “Mine Eyes Have Seen.”

ADP at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith supported and attended the MLK Community Association Annual Recognition and Awards Banquet held on the Saturday evening preceding MLK Day.  On MLK Day, ADP hosted a campus breakfast for about 450 people, and then led them on a peace walk.  Throughout the morning, ADP registered voters.  The following Thursday, ADP held its MLK Celebration, honoring unsung heroes in visual and performing arts.

The University of Missouri-St. Louis sponsored a day of service, along with a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance.  This featured Wes More, the host of “Beyond Belief,” the Cote Brillante Presbyterian Church Men’s Chorus, a scene from the play “Mountaintop” and a performance of “A Letter to Dr. King.”

The University of Washington Bothell, along with Cascadia Community College (Wash.), organized a day of service for students in honor of MLK Day. Volunteering opportunities included clearing invasive species and planting trees in the UW Bothell and Cascadia Community College wetlands, cleaning  at senior centers or nearby neighborhoods, participating in canned food and clothes drives, writing letters to service members, attending an advocacy workshop, learning about food justice and bowling with disabled children.

How did your campus celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.?  Let us know in the comment section!