A Day On, Not a Day Off

The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on January 18, 2021, is the 26th anniversary of the day of service that celebrates the Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy. Dr. King worked tirelessly to bring about racial equality in the nation using nonviolent means. The same year that King won the Nobel Peace Prize in the field of human rights, the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed.

Helping our children remember Dr. King’s legacy — and, the critical role teens and young adults played in the Civil Rights Movement — helps shine a light on what’s right and good about the centerpiece of his tenets: that we treat our fellow man equally, judge people “by the content of their character, not the color of their skin,” and have enough decency and respect for ourselves to lift our voices and seek what we think is rightfully ours without resorting to violence to get it.

Observed each year on the third Monday in January as “a day on, not a day off,” MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.

The U.S Department Of Education offers these 5 Ways to Help Your Kids Understand the Significance -- many of which can be done virtually during this pandemic.

Learn about the civil rights movement: Check out a timeline of African American history. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s was the political, legal, and social struggle to gain full citizenship rights for African Americans and to achieve racial equality. Note that on August 28, 1963, over 200,000 participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Volunteer for a day of service: According to mlkday.gov, King once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’” In 1994, Congress designated the Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday as a national day of service and charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with leading this effort. Taking place each year on the third Monday in January, the MLK Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service. With your kids, look online at photos of a previous year’s day of service to give your kids an idea of what volunteering is all about.
Enrich your kids’ understanding of making a contribution to societal welfare, as Martin Luther King did, by encouraging them to volunteer. Even at a young age, kids can help by making cards for a local hospital, or adopting an elderly neighbor by checking on him or her on a routine basis. Or make it a family effort; volunteer along with your kids for local community activities.
Read the “I Have a Dream” speech: See if your kids can find King’s speech listed in the program for the March on Washington. Try reading the speech with your kids to get a sense of content, and see if they can understand the significance of the words.
Learn the intent of monuments: Let your kids know memorials, such as that built to remember King, can be made to not only remind us of a particular person or event, but the actual structure’s architecture can relay different messages and intent. Impress upon your kids the amount of thought that can be given when designing a memorial, such as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.
Locate historical places of relevance: People from all over the country traveled to Washington, DC, for the March on Washington. Learn about historic civil rights locations around the country with the National Park Service’s interactive map. Ask your kids if they see any places that are in their home state. Have them pick out a place or two they’d like to learn about, and read about it online together.

"Everybody can be great ... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Service Ideas & Opportunities