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On August 28, 1963, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of, if not the most iconic speeches in American history. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to a crowd of nearly 250,000 civil rights supporters, King delivered his infamous “I Have a Dream” speech. To this day, its contents continue to inspire and motivate Americans of all shapes, sizes, ages and colors.
Not quite five years later and a shot rang out as King stood on the balcony of Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tenn., killing him at the age of 39 after more than a dozen years of fighting for civil rights.
On Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was honored by hordes of organizations with service projects and activities of remembrance a little more than 30 years after Ronald Reagan made it a national holiday in 1983.
But for Solid Rock Baptist Church, 1836 Federal St., Community Outreach Coordinator, Belle Myers, King’s spirit is honored every day.
“It’s a year-round thing that Solid Rock does,” the 2200 block of Reed Street resident said. “It’s not just a day of service but a daily, weekly and monthly thing throughout the community.”
She and her pastor, Henry Busby, have made the voyage to the Lorraine Hotel, which is now the site of a National Civil Rights Museum.
“It makes you think about it and gives you more insight into the life of a man who dedicated his life to human rights,” Busby said. “It lets you know he was an ordinary person, just like you and I, but he dedicated his life to humanity. And a person’s life was cut down in the middle of it by doing good.”
The museum features a chilling representation of the hotel room as he left it: sheets turned down, his speech mid-edit, his shoes on the floor, his jacket hanging on the chair.
Keeping to their word, Belle mentioned the numerous organizations that they support year-round, including: Project HOME, namely the Fairmount Avenue location; Project 300 Ministry, a homeless resource on Spring Garden Street; and Clothes Pin, a Center City non-profit that funnels clothes to those in need. On Monday, though, Belle and Busby led a crew of volunteers who used the day to clean their building and environs, inside and out.
Belle touched on one of the most important aspects of the celebration of a great man’s spirit. “He wasn’t just for black people – he was for people and that was so awesome. He had a dream and it’s good to dream; for blacks, whites, green, purple, polka dot, it’s a wonderful dream,” she said.
At the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia’s (CAGP) South Center, 2416-18 S. Seventh St., almost 100 people of all ages participated in a series of projects and remembrance activities. CAGP has organized years of MLK service project that were mostly cleanups, but this year they decided to do much more.
Sarun Chan, a resident of the 800 block of Reed Street and an Associate Director at CAGP, is the founder of its Teens Organizing Proactivity (TOP) program. As a lesson for the youth he works for and as a challenge to put together something great, he put this year’s celebration of King in their hands.
“This year is TOP’s fourth year of programming, and we asked the youth to take the lead and coordinate the event,” Chan explained. “Planning events like MLK Day of Service helps youth develop, and they see the impact they are making. After a few planning meetings, TOP finalized the event by bringing together American, immigrant, and refugee communities for a conversation about Martin Luther King, Jr, his dream; and our own dreams growing up as immigrants and refugees in the community.”
The docket of service projects CAGP coordinated on Monday is pretty deep. From a cleanup effort on 36 blocks that included Mifflin Square Park, Fifth and Wolf streets, to providing free health screens via Temple University medical students for volunteers and community members, they were able to involve a huge and varied bundle of participants.
The list includes: Migrant Education, EPIC Stakeholders, Bhutanese Association, Department of Commerce, Youth Leadership Council, Commission on Human Relations, 1st District Councilman Mark Squilla, Judge Ida Chen, Ladder 27 Fire Department, and Officer Gary Harkins, 3rd District Community Relations Officer.
Nearly 35 young members of the Cambodian community in Philadelphia participate in CAGP’s TOP program, three of whom explained the significance of the program in their lives and what they hoped to accomplish today.
“It’s not just for one specific culture or age range,” 17-year-old Cam-Tu Vuong, a resident of the 500 block of Gerritt Street, said. “We had posters to see what people have dreams about and how they’re trying to change our community.”
TOP members created posters that had the words “I Have A Dream” written large across four panels and invited the day’s participants to fill out speech bubbles and empty blocks with their dreams for change. Some were simple requests for peace, the eradication of hunger and hate, and some were heartbreakingly honest wishes to feel safe in their own home or to feel like their parents respect them and love them despite their disparate cultural realities.
Many young Cambodian immigrants struggle with language barriers and differences of understanding; some parents struggle to understand the idea of volunteering for a good cause, or working for free.
Thanh Tran, 18, and Sophia Lim, 19 and a TOP alumnus, of North and West Philly, respectively, helped Vuong explain a brainchild they were particularly proud of – the Mr. and Ms. Asian Teen Philly Pageant. Last year, contestants wore hoodies and held a minute-long moment of silence to honor the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
Though immigrants often endure an entirely different set of challenging circumstances in their daily lives, they certainly identify with the African American experience, distinctly and expressly so on the MLK Service Day.
“Our Cambodian community has gone through so much war, genocide, and poverty,” Chan said. “Struggling with our own new world, we faced low-education, high poverty, health and mental health disparities and lack of English. I just want to see [King’s] dream live through and vibrate positive energy through our community so we can lift ourselves from these struggles, so that we can finally spend less time fighting to survive, and spend more time loving our families.”
Staff Writer Bill Chenevert at bchenevert@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
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