By Jamie Ducharme, News Staff
For many Northeastern students, Martin Luther King Jr. Day serves only as a day off from class and an excuse to sleep in. But with so many exciting MLK Day events happening on campus and around the city, it would be a shame to spend this Monday aimlessly lying in bed.
Northeastern Assistant Director of Community Service Programs and Events Andrew Olson said he hopes to help students regard MLK Day as just the opposite of a vacation day through the school’s annual volunteer effort. Northeastern will be sponsoring a day of service for students and community members alike, featuring projects like painting murals for Patrick Kennedy Elementary School in East Boston, decorating book folders for literacy volunteers at Generations Inc., recording books for Jumpstart’s education programs and planting and learning about sustainable food. There will also be several workshops intended to link volunteerism and leadership.
“The motto of the event is ‘make it a day on instead of a day off,’” Olson said. “[We want people to] do something proactive to honor the legacy of Dr. King instead of just not going to work or school.”
The project is well on its way to achieving that goal; Olson expects the event to draw nearly 300 people, and said it reaches capacity every year.
“The [only] challenge in promoting it is that it happens exactly one week after the semester starts,” Olson said.
In addition to the day of service, Northeastern will host an MLK convocation sponsored by the John D. O’Bryant African-American Institute. The ceremony will feature remarks from Roxbury city councilor Tito Jackson, and will start at 11:45 a.m. in Blackman Auditorium. Celebrated author Isabel Wilkerson will also give a keynote speech entitled “Voices from Black Migration” at 4 p.m. in 240 Dockser Hall.
Just around the corner, the Museum of Fine Arts has a full day of events planned to commemorate Dr. King’s life and work as well. The day kicks off with a commUNITY puzzle in the Shapiro Family Courtyard, an activity that encourages visitors to “add your definition of diversity through pictures and words.” Participants of all ages can place shapes and words on the wall as a physical representation of Boston’s unique community.
As the day continues, the museum offers gallery talks from Boston University Ph.D. student Rachel Tolano about the influence of African-American art at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in gallery 327, as well as a children’s story hour focusing on Dr. King’s life at 10:30 a.m. in gallery 171.
On the performance side, Berklee College of Music’s The Rhythm Earth Ensemble will take the stage at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Remis Auditorium, and the Perkins School for the Blind Chorus will sing at 2 p.m. in gallery 168. Admission to these events, as well as to museum exhibits, will be free to all.
For other nearby MLK Day festivities, check out the Boston Children’s Chorus’ (BCC) annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert, centered on a performance of “Beloved Community” as a tribute to King’s work. Along with the BCC, the concert will feature Melinda Doolitte.
“This concert conveys both musical and racial harmony in honor of Dr. King,” said Kate Shamon, public relations representative for the BCC, in an email to The News.
BCC Executive Director David Howse said in a press release for the concert that, “While we still have challenges to reach [King’s] dream, it is time to celebrate what successes we have had in this journey.”
Performances will be held at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
For music elsewhere in the city, enjoy a free concert by the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. Taking place at 1 p.m. at Faneuil Hall, the show will feature everything from classical music to traditional spirituals. Spoken tributes from some of Boston’s distinguished leaders will follow the concert, featuring Massachusetts Treasurer Steve Grossman, Emerson College President Lee Pelton and founding staff member of Citizen Schools Tulaine Montgomery.
The day will conclude with a variety of service projects at the Curley K-8 School in Jamaica Plain. Volunteers can participate in activities like making scarves, decorating quilt squares and creating cards to benefit service agencies in the Boston metro area.
“What better way to honor this iconic civil rights leader, than by uniting communities through music, spoken word, history and volunteer service opportunities,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a press release for the event.
