Roni Ben-David, Director of Social Justice and Inclusion
Here are 6 ways you can honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy.
- Start a dinner conversation with friends or family about how we enter a space of service, using this MLK inspired Conversation Guide (created by Repair the World)
- Connect with local changemakers like Bend the Arc and the Ella Baker Center, which are partnering on this event to envision a new future for our criminal justice system. Meet others and participate in letter writing action to uplift currently incarcerated community members.
- Attend a March like this one commemorating the crossing of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, a symbol of violence and victory in the civil rights movement and the push for the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
- Visit the Museum of the African Diaspora and experience special dance, film, art, and music programs. Register to stay for lunch and conversation, provided by The Kitchen Social Club.
- Check out some of Dr. King’s most powerful moments. “We’re Coming to Get Our Check” – Here he challenges the “bootstrap” theory that suggests that anyone can succeed with hard work. He explains that economic disparities worsened when the federal government gave land and subsidies to poor white people but ignored Black citizens. “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” – in this speech, which he gave the day before his assassination, he commits to promoting labor rights. But what’s often overlooked in this speech is his reminding Black citizens to support Black-owned businesses and boycott those that don’t acknowledge their humanity.
- Volunteer! Look online for opportunities — or join one of these:
- 1/14: (In Person) Volunteer at the Florence Fang Community Farm in San Francisco. Florence Fang’s mission is to reclaim public land and grow strong communities and as a volunteer you will support their work by doing general farm tasks such as: weeding, watering, planting, cleaning up and more. We’ll have bagels and coffee for everyone and our RepairDolores crew will join together at the end of volunteering for a brief reflection activity.
- 1/16: (In Person) join Oakland residents for one of these cleaning and greening events across the city.
P.S. Check out this “Talmud of MLK Jr’s Speech” provided by AJWS!