For many, Martin Luther King Jr. Day means more than just a day off work. It is a day of service and learning.
Patricia Levroney, supervisor of Equity and Community Outreach for the Carroll County Public Schools system, helped organize "A Day On, Not a Day Off," an opportunity for the community to give service and learn about the impact the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had on this country.
Levroney said the event, sponsored by McDaniel College, NAACP Branch 7014, the Ira and Mary Zepp Center for Nonviolence and Peace Education, and Carroll County Public Schools takes on a special meaning this year because it is the 50th anniversary of voting rights for African-American citizens in the United States.
A Day On, Not a Day Off will be held on Monday, Jan. 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Decker Hall on the campus of McDaniel College. It is the sixth year for the event which is open to anyone in the community, but children younger than third-graders must have a parent or guardian with them.
Pamela Zappardino, co-director of the Ira and Mary Zepp Center, said they try to take a different approach annually so participants learn something new each year.
"About three years ago we looked at music and arts and its relationship to civil rights," Zappardino said. "Last year, we focused on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. This year, because it is the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act we are looking at the act of voting. And our focus since the beginning has always been to have participants in the program do some sort of service project while they are there."
Levroney said learning about King is one thing, but becoming a part of the experience means more.
"We will have real back-in-the-day antiquated voter booths where they can vote on different issues," Levroney said, "and we will be making posters that signify the right to vote."
Zappardino said the event has grown over the years.
"The first year we were thrilled because we had 25 or 26 people," she said. "It has grown to around 60 or so people now. Parents are welcome to stay with their kids. Then they and their kids have something to talk about when they go home, they have a focus to talk about Dr. King and why there's a holiday and some of the work he did."
Before the community service project, Dr. Nira Taru will tell the stories of that time and of civil rights, so students understand why they are doing the activities, Levroney explained.
"We try to give them more information and to share how Dr. King tried to put things into action using nonviolence," Zapparadino said. "People in the Civil Rights Movement were trying to end discrimination and segregation but they were also to bring people forward in a productive manner. Dr. King was very much interested in being a servant leader."
Those who participate will also take the Louisiana version of a literacy test that was a requirement for voting in many states 50 years ago.
"We want them to see how it had absolutely nothing to do with voting," Zappardino said. "I've given it to a number of my [college] classes and the students generally can't finish it, yet somehow the white people back then were notified that they had passed it while African-Americans were notified that they did not pass. In some states there were questions like, 'How many jelly beans are in this jar?' and 'How many bubbles are in a bar of soap?' It was clearly not a test based on literacy but a mechanism to keep the black people disenfranchised.
"It's really important that kids realize how important it is to vote," Zappardino said. "That's one of the great things about our country — that we can vote and elect our officials. Voting should be available to everyone in our country with no barriers.
"We really want the kids to come away knowing why Dr. King has a holiday and what his work was about and to give them a grounding in the idea that service to others is an important part of that idea," Zappardino said.
The day will also feature cultural bingo and a service project to benefit Human Services Programs of Carroll County. Everyone who participates is asked to bring in a service project donation of one of the following items: socks, gloves, coffee, creamer, sugar, laundry detergent, paper towels, cotton towels and canned goods. Boxes will be assembled to be donated to Carroll County's human services program for cold shelter homes.
"Dr. King was all about community service," Levroney said. "He was about helping people, no matter who you were. He was about building them up. In the past, there were a lot of disenfranchised people who were left out. It was not only minorities, it was all people from different backgrounds. Equitable economic power was important to Dr. King and how do you accomplish that without helping each other? Our children need to be in the mind of helping others, not thinking, 'This day is just for me. I'm going to sleep in, watch television.' It is about helping others. They need to be cognizant of their community duty.
"When Martin Luther King Day was first instituted people didn't understand why they had a day off. Now we know it is a day where you can do something for your community."
If you go
What: A Day On, Not a Day Off community service event
When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
Where: Decker Hall on the campus of McDaniel College, 2 College Hill, Westminster
Cost: $6 for a lunch of pizza, water and cookies. Students who receive Free and Reduced Lunch with Carroll County Public Schools will receive lunch at no cost.
More information: Patricia Levroney, supervisor of Equity and Community Outreach for the Carroll County Public Schools system at 410-386-1680 or ptlevro@carrollk12.org to see if space is still available and to be added to the list to guarantee a lunch. A limited number of walk-ins will also be accepted.
MLK Day at Carroll Arts Center
The Carroll Arts Center will be showing the 2013 movie, "Lee Daniels' The Butler" at 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19.
The PG-rated film tells the story of Cecil Gaines, a White House butler hired in 1957 who served seven American presidents over three decades.
Sponsored by Carroll Community College, it is free to anyone who has volunteered for a nonprofit organization in the last year. Otherwise, the cost is $6 for adults and $5 for Carroll Arts Center members and those age 18 and younger.
The Carroll Arts Center is located at 91 W. Main St. Westminster. For more information call 410-848-7272.
