I'm sure many many MANY of the social media accounts and blogs and groups you follow all have quotes and images and posts about celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday on Monday. So many that it might see a little, shall we say, performative? Perhaps. That very reason has caused me to pause and think about the true meaning of the holiday and how my family and camp can best honor Dr. King. How do we, simple citizens, summer campers, families, kids, celebrate a giant like Dr. King? How do we even start to honor his legacy, both at home, at school or camp? How do you show your gratitude for a life given for peace?
For one, you keep Dr. King's words, thoughts and actions in your mind and in what you do all year long! September is a great time to refresh your knowledge of some of his speeches and writings, or perhaps taking time during April to practice peaceful activism is more your thing. You see, MLK and February (Black History Month) cannot be the only times we talk about and think about Dr. King, Black Liberation, and Civil Rights. That is not to say that we shouldn't ramp up our celebration and actions during this time! Just like on New Year's day you set resolutions for the year ahead, MLK Day and the month of February can be your time to reset intentions and priorities when it comes to peacefully fighting for justice. I hope you will join me, Tumbleweed, and my family in some of the ways I will try to honor Dr. King this weekend and throughout 2021
Use Dr. Kings Birthday to set Intentions for 2021
Take some time this weekend to think about at least 3 things you are going to do to peacefully fight for justice in your community this year. From choosing to buy Black more often to diving into education around Indigenous People's of California, the more you authentically engage outside of your community, the more you are perpetuating justice and peace. Want more ideas? Check out some of my previous blog posts for readings, viewings, and social media profiles to follow.
Be of service!
Celebrating MLK with a day of service and volunteering is a long standing tradition. Dr. King once said "Everybody can be great because everybody can serve." Check out these resources for ways to serve:
Participate in any of these 9 actions
Why reinvent the wheel, right? Check out the New York Time's 9 Ways to Honor MLK this Holiday Weekend.
Spring Clean your social media
One of my favorite, lazy ways to keep myself in check - go through your social media accounts and throw out ones that don't promote justice and peace. Get rid of accounts that are silent around civil rights or that think diversity and equity are too "political". Add on some cool new ones that are spreading the good work of justice, antiracism, and inclusion.
And, as always, I will be involving my kids in all of these actions as well! Maybe not so much the social media cleanse, they're only 3 and 5 so Instagram means nothing to them. More so, I'm excited to see how we can continue to bring education, setting intentions, and opportunities of service into Tumbleweed and camps around the country. Wouldn't it be great if all summer camps annually set intentions of service and upholding justice together? I think that is a very bold and wonderful future to work towards.