AU celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this week with a day of service and a check presentation that culminated the week's efforts.
As part of AU's fifth annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of service event, students worked at the Washington Center for the Aging, visiting and playing Bingo with the center's residents.
The event, which took place on Saturday, was a day of service and reflection to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., according to a press release from Mark Seaman, a senior in the School of Public Affairs and a member of the MLK Planning Committee, the group that plans the event along with the Community Service Center at AU.
Seaman has been the Student Coordinator for the MLK Day of Service for the past three years.
Students had the opportunity to work with the elderly in Northwest D.C., according to a press release from Seaman. In addition to students, faculty and staff are welcome to spend time with the Center's residents, sharing their thoughts on MLK and playing Bingo with a civil rights theme. The volunteers also served refreshments.
"The MLK Day of Service is one of the most important annual events at AU because it's about remembering the past, celebrating our achievements, and recognizing that there is still more work to be done in serving our communities and moving toward equality," Seaman said.
"Helping the elderly is a noble act," said Jeremy Taylor, a senior in the School of International Service. "It is an act that not too many are willing to do as a result of whatever conceptions the younger generation has such as the elderly telling repetitive stories or not being able to hear well."
Seaman said he remembered reading that King didn't want to be remembered with statues and monuments, but by a commitment to service by those he fought with and for during the civil rights movement.
According to Seaman, previous service days were at the Capital Children's Museum and the Woodlawn Cemetery.
"We have also volunteered at the Woodlawn Cemetery, the only place in the nation where both black and white soldiers from the Civil War are buried together."
Sunday's service in the Kay Spiritual Life Center included performances from AU's Gospel Choir and a skit performed by AU students Justin Bibb and Wesley Johnson.
The skit reenacted the meeting between Malcolm X and MLK, Jr.
Justin Bibb, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs played Malcolm X. "It was an honor to play Malcolm X," Bibb said. "He was true American revolutionary and it really moved me to play the role of this great civil rights leader."
Johnson, a senior in the Kogod School of Business, played Martin Luther King, Jr.
According to Seaman, some members of the Jazz Ensemble paraded through campus New Orleans style at 1:30 with "When the Saints go Marching In" to attract attention to the event.
"This year's MLK grant will bring students from across the District to AU in order to educate them about the exciting career opportunities they have the ability to pursue," Seaman said at the presentation. "These students, many from underprivileged backgrounds, will be exposed to options they may have never thought possible."
Eagle Endowment also believes in this idea and would like to
celebrate the memory of the great leader by presenting Monique Toussaint and the ladies of Alpha Nu Omega, with the third annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. grant for their Kids 2 College Program, Seaman concluded at the presentation.
The AU Gospel Choir also performed at the celebration.
