This year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was on January 17th. Though many people are well aware of the national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., many do not actually know the history behind it, or actually value it beyond it being a convenient day off. MLK Day is a federal holiday that marks the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. on the third Monday of January every year, although his birthday was actually January 15th. King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement. The campaign for the holiday began soon after he was murdered in 1968, but the day was not put into law as a holiday until 1983 by President Ronald Reagan. Some people thought a paid holiday for federal employees would be too expensive, and others thought that a holiday to honor a private citizen would be breaking a tradition, since the only other American holidays for an individual’s birthday are George Washington and Christopher Columbus (usatoday.com). When it was first established, some states would give it different names or combine it with other holidays: Arizona called it “Martin Luther King Jr./Civil Rights Day,” Alabama called it “Robert E. Lee/Martin Luther King Birthday,” and Wyoming called it “Martin Luther King Jr./ Wyoming Equality Day.” In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed into law a transformation of the King holiday “into a day of citizen action volunteer service in honor of King.”
During an interview with the Upper School Counselor, Mrs. Polonsky explained what she normally does on this holiday. “I reflect on how I as an individual encompass the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, and service. These values defined Martin Luther King Jr. I, along with my children, will participate in a project that reflects on one of these values.” Then when asked what the holiday means to her, she answered, “To me, MLK day represents peace and service. It is about honoring Martin Luther King Jr. who taught us that we can only achieve unity and peace by acting with compassion towards one another. My favorite MLK quote is, ‘I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.’” Lastly, she was asked how she thinks AIS recognizes and honors the holiday, and whether or not she believes there should be improvements made to celebrate it. She answered, “Our school celebrates the day by reminding students about the important messages that MLK left behind. We celebrate his legacy by volunteering our service to a community project. We encourage giving back and supporting our community, unity, and social justice.”
Alimah Jalloh ‘24 discussed her plans, saying “usually during MLK Day I try to find a volunteering option that helps benefit my community or others. For a few years in a row, I’ve been going to my friend’s synagogue to help pack meals for the homeless. My family also tries to donate clothes and things we aren’t using on MLK Day as well!” Then when she was asked what the holiday means to her, she answered, “MLK Day means a lot to me especially because I am a young Black woman in the U.S. A lot of people, including myself, look up to MLK for his efforts of making the U.S. a place that’s welcoming to everyone, not just for white people. To see everyone taking this day to give back to their communities, regardless of their race, just as MLK did is truly amazing.” Lastly, when she was asked how she thinks AIS recognizes and honors the holiday, and whether or not she believes there should be improvements made to celebrate the holiday, her answer was, “From my knowledge, AIS holds various service opportunities for MLK Day. In middle school, I remember we had an event with Baldwin and Haverford where we packed bowls of food for the needy. In Upper School, we have a huge variety of events that take place each year. I remember last year we had one about Project Home which I attended and it was a great experience. I think Agnes Irwin is doing a great job in regards to service with this holiday but I wish that they would step it up with the historical aspect of it. I feel like we never dive deep enough into the history of MLK on this holiday or days prior, we stay on the surface level or tiptoe around it. I shouldn’t have to take the African American History course to further my knowledge about him. This information should be more accessible to the student body.”
While interviewing one of the English teachers, Ms. Johns, she was first asked what MLK Jr. Day meant to her, and she responded by saying, “it is a reminder that there is consistent work to do in our communities around the world,” and that we should honor our heroes, and “that there is hope and more work” to be done. She was asked next what she does to celebrate it, and she responded with, “I would not use the word ‘celebrate,’ but I honor it by reading up on MLK,” and reminding herself of what he did. Lastly, when she was asked how she thinks MLK Day should be celebrated in order to honor MLK, she commented, “I don’t know what happens because I haven’t been here. I think there should be a day of service because that is the best way to honor fallen heroes.”
