What do you think of when you think of Martin Luther King Day? A day off of work or school? A day when the mail or garbage doesn’t run?
These are the things that have become equated with the holiday as it has become diluted over the years, but there is a much deeper meaning behind it.
“MLK Day is a national day of service,” said Renee Sanders, director for United Way of Lowndes and Noxubee County. “We’re given a day off from work, and so many people take this day for granted and treat it as just a day off. But we want to encourage it to be a day on. We don’t even ask for the full day. So it’s not like we’re doing anything all day on MLK Day. We just want them to give up a portion of their off day to do something on that day for the community and to give back … instead of sleeping in and forgetting about the whole purpose of this day.”
That is where the MLK Breakfast and Day of Service comes into the picture.
The annual event, which has been held in Columbus for years, has seen a two year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. That is set to change this year.
“We are looking forward to having an event where the city can come out and remember the good works of Martin Luther King and his message of unity, giving back to your community, supporting one another,” said Mayor Keith Gaskin. “We are looking forward to having an inspiring day that we think will bring a large number of our citizens together to remember an American hero who is someone that I think left a legacy that is worthy of remembering and encouraging others to follow.”
It will take place at Lion Hills Center at 8 a.m. on Jan. 16.
It is a collaborative effort between the City of Columbus, UWLN, Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi University for Women and East Mississippi Community College.
The event features a complimentary breakfast along with speakers and music. The keynote speaker will be Tyson Cunningham, a Columbus resident and former Mississippi State University basketball player.
“One of the things we want to talk about during the breakfast is the importance of giving back to your community and working together,” Gaskin said. “We live in a world, today, where there’s a lot of divisiveness and a lot of people that speak on issues before they listen and try to find ways to work together. So, we’re looking forward to having an event where we can celebrate his legacy and also encourage our citizens to follow his example.”
The event takes it a step further and asks citizens to practice giving back instead of just talking about it.
“Tools for School” is the service project served by the event.
According to Sanders, there are more than 700 teachers in her service area, which has now expanded. These teachers are struggling at this point in the school year, so the project aims to ease that burden.
“What I’ve come to learn is that, at the beginning of the year, students are always asked to bring in school supplies,” Sanders said. “By the time January rolls around, the supplies the teachers received in August have been depleted. And now we have teachers that go in their pockets to make up the difference.”
Each teacher is asked to register and create a supply wish list for their classroom. There will be boxes at the event for each teacher that has registered, and those in attendance will be asked to take a box and fill it with the supplies on the list.
“We are asking the people in the community to come grab a box,” Sanders said, “They’ll be able to grab those boxes on MLK Day. And they take that box with them, fill it up with items from the wishlist of the teacher, and they have until Jan. 31 to return the box back to my office. If they don’t want to grab a box and complete the box, the other alternative is to start a school supply drive in their community. Then they bring those supplies to the event.”
She added that teachers have to register, because there will only be boxes prepared for the ones who do. As of the end of the week, only 129 teachers had done so.
Teachers and donors can visit linktr.ee/uwln and select the appropriate link to either register or make donations.
Bouncing back
With this event being the first since the onset of the pandemic, planners are not sure what to expect.
“Pre-COVID, we would have over 300 volunteers,” Sanders said “We would already have the donations rolling in and we would have massive amounts of supplies that needed to be sorted. I don’t know what to expect now. People are slowly, and I do mean slowly, getting back into getting outside. So, they’re still really reluctant about getting outside and being around a large group.”
Gaskin is optimistic that there will be a good turnout.
“We can host up to 150 people at the event this year, so we are expecting a good crowd,” he said.
Starkville
Starkville also has a slate of events scheduled to celebrate MLK Day.
The day will kick off with a Breakfast and Day of Service hosted by Mississippi State University. It will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Mill Conference Center, located at 100 Mercantile Lane, with breakfast, followed by community service from 10 a.m.-noon. Non MSU affiliated volunteers must register online at msstate.givepulse.com.
At 10 a.m., there will also be a program at Mt. Peiler Missionary Baptist Church, located at 840 Highway 389, which will include a welcome from Yulanda Haddix, Oktibbeha County NAACP chapter president. Other speakers will include a representative from the Starkville Police Department and various community leaders.
This year’s Unity Park honorees will also be announced during a program at the park, located on Dr. Douglas L Conner Drive, at 1:30 p.m. The speakers for the event are still being confirmed.
In conjunction with these events, Starkville Oktibbeha Unity League (SOUL) will be promoting a community-wide dialogue titled “Facing racism in a diverse nation.” The group will be signing people up for the dialogue, which will last about six weeks and will be held at a later date.
Haddix said the group is also trying to organize the Unity Night program for Jan. 15, but it has not been nailed down yet.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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