By James Irwin
Between 600 and 700 George Washington University volunteers are expected to participate in community service projects throughout the D.C. metro area on Monday, Jan. 20, at the university’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, part of a weeklong campus celebration honoring the civil rights leader.
The day-long event kicks off with a welcome program at 10 a.m. in the Marvin Center Grand Ballroom, featuring addresses by Columbian College of Arts and Sciences sociology professor Fran Buntman and Michael Tapscott, director of the Multicultural Student Services Center. Following the program, volunteers will be bused to service locations in D.C. and Maryland.
“Our students come to GW with the expectation to serve,” said Amy Cohen, executive director for the Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. “They often find opportunities to do that through day-of-service events, community organizations or in the classroom.”
The Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service has confirmed nine locations as of Monday morning, including sites at Hyattsville Middle School, Little Friends for Peace and Knollwood Army Retirement Home. Volunteers at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts will assist with organizing and packing materials as the school prepares for its upcoming renovation.
GW has participated in the national Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service since 2001.
“The university's formation of lasting relationships with community partners show how committed GW is to service,” said senior Alexandria Poitier, a double major in biology and religion, who is participating in her second MLK Day of Service as a student leader and third overall.
Mr. Tapscott’s opening remarks will focus on Dr. King as a leader of people who sacrificed his life for a cause. Dr. Buntman, author of “Robben Island and Prisoner Resistance to Apartheid” and a featured expert in a recent George Washington Today article on the legacy of Nelson Mandela, is expected to talk about the legacies of both Dr. King and Mr. Mandela, Ms. Poitier said.
“What a great opportunity we have to look at these two men who challenged incredible power structures and systems of oppression,” Mr. Tapscott said. “In the face of incredible odds, and led by their unwavering convictions, both inspired millions of loyal people who changed the world as we knew it.”
Though the two men never met, Dr. King and Mr. Mandela fought for the same cause at the same time in history, Mr. Tapscott said. The timeline reflects such a connection. The March on Washington took place Aug. 28, 1963. Less than 10 months later, on June 12, 1964, Mr. Mandela was convicted of four counts of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the South African government, and began serving a life sentence on Robben Island. That October, Dr. King became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize -- an award Mr. Mandela and F.W. de Klerk would receive nearly 30 years later for peacefully ending apartheid in South Africa.
“It is important that our students know they are not serving in a vacuum,” Ms. Cohen said of the parallels between Dr. King and Mr. Mandela. “This is part of a legacy of contributions toward social justice.”
MLK Day of Service is hosted by the George Washington University in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service. Although registration for 2014 service opportunities is now closed, the Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service is maintaining a wait list.
GW’s Multicultural Student Services Center will host a series of events this week honoring Dr. King’s legacy, including a Marvin Center screening of the History Channel documentary “King” and the “King Celebration: Three Dimensions of a Complete Life,” featuring performers and speakers who will address Dr. King’s education, intellect, spiritual life and activism.
“Within minutes, we identified a number of people within the GW community whose story around Dr. King is impassioned, authentic, and unique to us,” Mr. Tapscott said. “I am very excited about this event.”
MLK week programming begins Tuesday with a mid-day march to the King and Lincoln Memorials.