The University of Indianapolis community came together to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day through service projects and art, celebrating King’s “vision of equality, connection and collective action,” according to the Office of Student Affairs.
Occurring on the third Monday of the year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is designated as a National Day of Service, encouraging Americans to better their communities, according to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture. Just four days after his assassination in 1968, legislation was introduced to honor King’s life through the federal holiday celebrated today; however, it took 15 years to be approved by the federal government. In 1994, Congress passed a bill dedicating the holiday as a national day of service. By 2000, all 50 states recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Common celebrations of the holiday include marches, parades and speeches by Civil Rights leaders and politicians, according to Brittanica. Student Affairs, the Office of Inclusive Excellence and the Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement at UIndy worked together to host events throughout the holiday week. Activities included service projects, a collaborative art project and a community partners fair, according to Student Affairs.
The cooperative art project involved decorating benches donated to the university by Perry Township schools. Associate Director of Student Affairs and Student Experience Designer Alexis Fort said this was to encourage the community to leave messages and motifs around unity. For Fort, embodying both UIndy’s motto, “Education for Service,” and King’s legacy was a priority.
“We just thought that would be a great reflection of embodying Martin Luther King because he was really big on creating unity,” Fort said. “What’s the best way to display unity other than art?”
The decorated benches, previously located in the Schwitzer Student Center, will be donated to a local, Black-owned restaurant located less than half a mile from campus, Open Kitchen. Fort said the art the community drew on the tables stuck out to her, particularly one involving a student looking up a J. Cole lyric from the song “Love Yourz,” “No such thing is a life that’s better than yours,” connecting the song to a theme of unity.
“I was like, ‘Wow, I never even got that from that lyric,’” Fort said. “I was excited to see students kind of blow my mind in a way that I didn’t even expect them to grasp ….”
Student Experience Designer Selena Jackson-King said the Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement helped with the community partners fair, featuring organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, food banks and services in Indianapolis that students can not only use, but be a part of. On Jan. 23, students were invited to pack hygiene kits to be donated to the Phil and Janet Terry Center for Campus Connections — a center that Jackson-King said is a resource hub. In all, Jackson-King said the chance for students to interact with one another through these events added to the aspects of King’s legacy they set out to embody.
“We desire belonging,” Jackson-King said. “I think this culmination of events was a great way to showcase that.”
