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Week of service celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.

Starting on Jan. 21, a week of service will be dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. The week will start off with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Munch and March at 9 a.m. in the Marshall White Center.

The Weber State University Community Involvement Center, Center for Diversity & Unity, American Democracy Project, and community partners such as the NAACP and the Marshall White Center collaborated to put together the week’s activities.

For the first event, the Freedom March, participants will start the march at the Marshall White Center. People can carry protest signs during the march.

“It will be similar to what Martin Luther King did,” said Josh Hunt, WSU diversity vice president, who helped organize the events. “They will be demanding equal rights for different races and ethnic groups.”

Hunt, who participated in the march last year, said the community can be involved in the events as well, since they take place out in the community as well as at WSU.

On Tuesday, Jan. 22, professor Barry Gomberg and Amir Jackson, the founder of Nurture the Creative Mind, will be in the Shepherd Union Atrium, talking about the importance of being engaged in the community. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech will be projected on a large screen, similar to the Sept. 11 event hosted last year. A schedule for the week will be available at the event.

“Martin Luther King gave his life to make his country a better place,” said Leah Murray, an associate professor of political science and philosophy and the co-chair of the American Democracy Project. “It’s important to say, ‘You can make your country a better place too.'”

Murray said the week is not so much a tribute to King, more a week of service in his name. She said King was able to change things around him even though he shouldn’t have been able to, and students often feel this way.

“Students may feel like they can’t do anything,” Murray said. “They can still change the world. . . . Martin Luther King is a good example of how they can do this.”

Hunt said the event is important for different facets. He said that, for the CDU, the event is important because it deals with things like racial diversity.

“It’s very critical to our mission,” Hunt said. “For the Community Involvement Center, they are trying to embody Martin Luther King’s service and the work he did for his community.”

On Jan. 23, the CIC will make survive-the-cold kits for St. Anne’s Homeless Shelter, and will tie blankets on Jan. 24 for St. Martha’s Baby Project. On Jan. 25, students at Madison Elementary School will learn about King from 1:15-5:30 p.m.

The CIC will also host a blood drive with the American Red Cross from Jan. 22-25 in the Shepherd Union Ballrooms. It will also host a food drive during that time. Students can drop off food at the donation box in front of the CIC.

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