“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?'” 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr asked those around him that very question. Consider how you would answer this question if he asked it of you.  Submit your reflection to this question on a Google Doc and share it with Mrs. Arthur @ karthur@valpo.k12.in.us.  She will post sincere reflections on our social media.  

Freedom's Ring: King's "I Have a Dream" Speech is an interactive website that provides students with an opportunity to experience an animation of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Click on the link above to access the site. Click "BEGIN" when you are ready.     

Freedom’s Ring is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, animated. Here you can compare the written and spoken speech, explore multimedia images, listen to movement activists, and uncover historical context. Fifty years ago, as the culminating address of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, King demanded the riches of freedom and the security of justice. Today, his language of love, nonviolent direct action, and redemptive suffering resonates globally in the millions who stand up for freedom together and elevate democracy to its ideals. How do the echoes of King’s Dream live within you? 

MAKE A CAREER OF HUMANITY

The 2023 theme was chosen to encourage us to commit to a lifelong pursuit of social justice. In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s April 18, 1959 speech to participants of the Youth March for Integrated Schools, he states:

As June approaches, with its graduation ceremonies and speeches, a thought suggests itself. You will hear much about careers, security, and prosperity. I will leave the discussion of such matters to your deans, your principals, and your valedictorians. But I do have a graduation thought to pass along to you. Whatever career you may choose for yourself—doctor, lawyer, teacher—let me propose an avocation to be pursued along with it. Become a dedicated fighter for civil rights. Make it a central part of your life.

It will make you a better doctor, a better lawyer, and a better teacher. It will enrich your spirit as nothing else possibly can. It will give you that rare sense of nobility that can only spring from love and selflessly helping your fellow man. Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater Nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.

United States, Congress. Congressional Proceedings and Debates of the 86th Congress. Government Printing Office, vol. 105, part 7. 1959, pp. 8696-8697. U.S. Government Publishing Office. 

Think about ways your future professional self will embrace the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Submit your reflection to this question on a Google Doc and share it with Mrs. Arthur @ karthur@valpo.k12.in.us.  She will post sincere reflections on our social media.  

Watch a great movie!  

Click the link for each and sign in with your school-issued Google credentials.

Selma 

42

Just Mercy

Remember the Titans 

Journal your reaction to the films!  Submit to Mrs. Arthur to post on our website, newsletter, and Canvas page.

Snowed in? Host a Zoom watch party with your friends! 

Make it a day of service!

"Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

   Be an example to others by practicing Dr. King's teachings!  Make your MLK Day a day ON, not a day OFF. Share what you did with Mrs. Arthur @ karthur@valpo.k12.in.us 

Ideas

Contact an elderly neighbor and offer to shovel or run an errand for them.  Or, share a cup of coffee with them and just chat.  Write a reflection on how you felt afterward.  Submit your reflection to this question on a Google Doc and share it with Mrs. Arthur @ karthur@valpo.k12.in.us.  

Contact a food pantry or shelter and donate food/supplies for those in need. Share and submit your experience on a Google Doc with Mrs. Arthur @ karthur@valpo.k12.in.us.  

Write letters to seniors who are living in long-term care facilities.  Share and submit your experience on a Google Doc with Mrs. Arthur @ karthur@valpo.k12.in.us.

Record yourself reading a children's book to elementary students and submit it to Mrs. Arthur. Share the recording with Mrs. Arthur @ karthur@valpo.k12.in.us.

Volunteer for outdoor spring cleaning.  Let us know your plan to encourage others! Let Mrs. Arthur know what you have planned and she will highlight your efforts on our social media! Share and submit your experience on a Google Doc with Mrs. Arthur @ karthur@valpo.k12.in.us.

Write a poem that reflects your hope for future generations.  Maybe consider an acrostic poem! Record yourself reading it and share the recording with Mrs. Arthur @ karthur@valpo.k12.in.us.