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MLK Day of Service & Reflection

Chicago Events, Activities and More

By Sara Yaniga, Macaroni Kid Chicago (Midtown) January 15, 2021

Monday, January 18th is Martin Luther King Jr Day, a national holiday, and it is a day best honored in service to others and with reflection.  I have found myself thinking about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr often lately - evaluating what I know, or what I think I know and realize there is just so much more to learn about this man and his legacy.  Perhaps it is because I am a parent now, and my oldest has the benefit of being educated in a city rich in diversity and history, or maybe it is because I am now about the same age that this man, this father, was when he died in 1968.

As a child, I learned about the Civil Rights Movement from teachers who were too young to have lived through it and textbooks too sterile and watered down to do the topic justice.  My knowledge started and ended with a bus in Montgomery, a Woolworth's lunch counter in North Carolina, a monumental march in Washington DC and an assassination in Tennessee.  I am embarrassed to even admit that despite the fact I have lived in Atlanta and now Chicago, two cities rich with Civil Rights history, I forgot to keep learning and educating myself as an adult.       

Here are some facts I recently learned about the prolific leader, speaker, and educator -

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day has only been a national holiday since 1983, signed into law by Ronald Reagan.  It wasn't first celebrated until 1986 and it wasn't until the year 2000 that all 50 states officially recognized the day
  • He was born Michael, named after his father, but at the age of 5 his dad, inspired by the work of Martin Luther, changed both of their names to Martin
  • In school he was an "average" public speaker - in fact, he received a "C" grade in public speaking while attending Crozer Theological Seminary
  • He won a Grammy for "Best Spoken Word" in 1971
  • A portion of the "I Have a Dream" speech was improvised
  • Chicago was one of the first cities to name a street after MLK and there are an estimated 900 streets in the US named after him today
  • The Chicago Freedom Campaign brought King and his wife to Chicago in 1966.  The Woodlawn apartments where they lived are long gone, but in their place are the newer King Legacy Apartments, which include the "MLK" Exhibit Center on the first floor.

There are several memorials to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr around the world - and while the majority are here in the US, (including this one, or this amazing mural, both located in Chicago) you can find memorials to him in England, Australia, Jerusalem, Cuba, and Sweden



If you are looking for ways to further your own education and understanding of the life and impact of Dr. King then here are a few recommended sites to visit:

  • DuSable Museum of African-American History has a series of virtual events available now, including a 1961 BBC Face to Face interview with Martin Luther King, Jr. 
  • Chicago History Museum will hold a virtual event celebrating the life of MLK on Monday from 11 am to 4 pm. This event will explore King's time in Chicago and share how the museum is working to preserve his legacy of action and activism. Click HERE for more details and to participate.
  • Art Institute Chicago will be honoring the legacy of Dr. King in a virtual celebration of live and recorded events this year. Youth poets from the Rebirth Poetry Ensemble and the performance duo In Spirit will be performing at 5pm on Monday, January 18. On Wednesday, January 20 (2pm) you can join in a discussion called "(IN)Justice" which will explore the topics of justice, resistance and faith. Full details and schedule can be found online.
    There are also some great recorded events your family can watch: 

    Video: Picture This which is a great story and art pairing for those with young kids (5 and under)
    Video: The Two Visits explores King's two visits to Chicago through film, spoken word and music
    Video: Some Dawn is a response to the exhibit Bisa Butler: Portraits with an animated visualization of themes to represent community, spirit and pride. 
  • Hyde Park Art Center (12 pm - 4 pm) will host their virtual celebration Gamechangers & Name Changers.  This event is held over Zoom (meeting ID 843 3930 5758) and will celebrate local artists, activist and makers who embody the spirit of MLK, justice and visibility.
  • PlayMakers Laboratory will present a special Media Lab Monday entirely dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 18th.  The session will focus on speech writing using the "I Have a Dream"  speech as a template.  The program will also include an introduction to MLK, guided writing and performances from the PML teaching artists.  This will all stream from the PML's Facebook page at 12:30 pm 

Mark your calendars for March 28th which is when the Chicago Sinfonietta will perform their annual MLK Tribute Concert at a delayed date and time


When I started to write this article, and realized how little I knew, or remembered learning, about MLK I went to our family bookshelves to see what I could find. To my dismay I came up empty-handed.  Not a single book about Dr. King was on our shelves - for the kids, or myself.  I reached out to a local elementary librarian for her recommendations and she shared these titles with me.  The links will take you to local bookstore Semicolon Bookstore & Gallery. Semicolon is not only my local bookstore in the River North/River West neighborhood, but it is Chicago's only black woman-owned bookstore and gallery space.  I have found these same titles in circulation of the Chicago Public Library too.

Additional titles and activities have been collected to share with your children or classrooms:



I have also collected a few videos from YouTube that I have enjoyed watching and sharing with my children:


I hope you found this article informative and inspiring to take advantage of one of Chicago's many opportunities to remember, honor and learn more about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this holiday weekend. 


References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr._Day

https://www.deseretnews.com/top/3020/0/25-Martin-Luther-King-Jr-memorials-in-the-US-and-around-the-world.html

https://econometricainc.com/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-s-impact-fair-housing-united-states/

https://www.bustle.com/articles/136094-5-martin-luther-king-day-facts-that-will-surprise-you

http://mentalfloss.com/article/90747/12-historic-facts-about-martin-luther-king-jr

Article originally published 2019.  Updated 2021.