video: Martin Luther King Day: ‘Not a Day Off’ for Volunteers
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
For members of City Year Rhode Island, it was a “day on.”
About 400 City members, students, teachers, elected officials, and community members fanned out across the city to work on a variety of community and service-related projects. At the Gilbert Middle School and West End Community Center in Providence, they painted murals. At the Elmwood Adult Day Health Center they provided activities for the elderly. And throughout the day, students and others took every opportunity they could to engage in “courageous conversations about Dr. King’s legacy and issues of social justice.”
“Our goal today is to bring people together to strengthen one of this city’s public schools, as well as the neighborhood that supports its students and families every day,” said Jennie Johnson, Executive Director of City Year Rhode Island. “Dr. King epitomized the belief that a community should stand together and take action toward achieving our common goals. City Year Rhode Island is proud to play a role on this important anniversary and humbled by the dedication of all of the community and corporate volunteers who came to serve with us today.”GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
The day kicked off with a speaking program at Gilbert Middle School with a guest list that included Congressman David Cicilline, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, and Schools Superintendent Thomas Brady.
Taveras: ‘A debt of gratitude to King’
Taveras made stops at other events throughout the day. At the 28th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast at the Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet he spoke of how the civil rights leader’s legacy had affected his life and work.
“My success is fruit from a tree that Dr. King planted many decades ago,” Taveras said. “I know I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. King and all who fought with him that I can never fully repay. But I can honor Dr. King through our collective struggle to bring justice and equality to every person, regardless of skin color, regardless of zip code, regardless of the circumstances of his or her birth.”
Chafee: 'It is our job to ensure his good deeds live on'
Governor Lincoln Chafee also made appearances at several events yesterday, including the Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet breakfast, an event at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence in the late morning, and a tribute to King at the Ebenezer Baptist Church on Cranston Street later in the afternoon. Taveras also attended the church event.
At the church, Chafee praised King's ability to inspire, quoting from his "I have a dream" speech.
“Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired a generation. Now it is our job to ensure that his good deeds live on,” Chafee said.
