The life of Martin Luther King, Jr. was celebrated at both St. Ann Center campuses by bringing his words, his dreams and his legacy to life.
Children and adults gathered in the Bucyrus Campus’ Intergenerational Park to honor King with stirring words, music and dramatization. Staff member Gloria Miller portrayed Rosa Parks, sharing the story of Dec. 1, 1955, the day she was arrested and fined for refusing to yield her bus seat to a white passenger. Her decision resulted in a 381-day bus boycott and a ruling by the Supreme Court that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.
Next up, 8-year-old David shared a portion of King’s famous “I have a dream” speech and the leader’s belief in the power of nonviolent protest. The childcare kids led a march around the park, as young and old alike joined in singing “We Shall Overcome”–not a protest song, but rather a promise: “We shall overcome someday. Deep in my heart, I do believe.”
At the Stein Campus, clients and staff met in the Atrium to hear some interesting facts about the great civil rights leader. Did you know:
- King’s birth name was Michael, not Martin. His minister father, inspired by the Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther, changed his and his young son’s names.
- King entered college at age 15, skipping grades nine and 12.
- While training to become a minister, King received a C in public speaking. He is now considered one of the greatest orators in U.S. history.
- King was imprisoned 29 times for acts of civil disobedience.
- George Washington is the only other American to have had his birthday observed as a national holiday.
- From 1957 to 1968, King traveled over 6 million miles and spoke over 2,500 times.
- There are approximately 900 streets named after King in the U.S., including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Milwaukee.
- When Martin Luther King Jr received a Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence, he was just 35 years old – the youngest man at the time to do so.[av_gallery ids=’23634,23633,23632,23631,23630,23629,23628,23627,23626,23625,23624,23623,23622′ style=’big_thumb’ preview_size=’portfolio’ crop_big_preview_thumbnail=’avia-gallery-big-crop-thumb’ thumb_size=’portfolio’ columns=’5′ imagelink=’lightbox’ link_dest=” lightbox_text=’caption’ lazyload=’avia_lazyload’ html_lazy_loading=’disabled’ alb_description=” id=” custom_class=” av_uid=’av-kqwsmb’ admin_preview_bg=”]