Monday, January 19, 2009

Day for Community Thinking/Building

The Dr. Martin Luther King holiday is becoming a day of dedication to community to service. According to NPR this morning (January 20) there will be double the number of people volunteering throughout the country. Among those volunteers will be President Elect Obama and his wife. And tomorrow, he is being inaugurated as President of the United States. When he calls for us -- All of us -- to be part of the solution we will have a gut feeling that he has been there.

In Hartsville today there will be several MLK Day remembrances. One part of the Senior Communication Seminar that I am teaching is geared to life after college. I have told the seniors that our class today will be at the ceremony. One of the speakers will be a Coker sophomore, Phillip Woo, talking about some of Dr. King's mentors. Phillip will be introduced by Coker senior Blake Terrell. One of the main people in pulling this People-to-People sponsored event together is long-time community activist Clayton Richardson. They usually have a strong group and today might even be larger because of the Hope in the air with the leadership transition taking place tomorrow.

Back in 1960 it was John F. Kennedy who told Americans, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Dr. King spoke eloquently about service and commitment and led effectively through courage and determination. President Elect Barack Obama has given every indication that he will be calling on all of us in the spirit of Lincoln, in the spirit of Kennedy, in the spirit of King in the spirit of Reagan in the spirit of Americans to rally to our communities and our country. I hope we will all be thinking about the opportunities to become part of something that is bigger than ourselves.

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