Brotherly Love: A Mural Remembering Dr. King
By Jessica Dean
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Later this month, a record number of volunteers are expected to turn out for the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service. In anticipation of that day, some local school children created a piece of artwork meant to both inspire and educate.
With pep in their steps, Girard College's Lower School Choir kicked off the day with their take on a classic civil rights song.
On January 19, 2015, Philadelphia predicts a record 135,000 volunteers participating in 1,800 community service projects in honor of the slain civil rights leader. That would make it the biggest King Day of Service in the nation.
"It's really about over 100,000 people embracing the legacy of Dr. King and turning community concerns into citizen action," said the founder of the non-profit Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, Todd Bernstein.
This year, the day focuses on the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
Dozens of children from six schools unveiled the murals they created after studying Dr. King's words and the bloody history of the fight for voting rights. Nathaniel Lee, of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, explained, "The whole idea was to take the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the speech that Dr. Martin Luther King did, 'Give Us the Ballot,' and have the students study that speech and come up with a piece of artwork."
Lauren Robinson, an 11th grader at Woodlynde School in Strafford, Chester County, said their drawings represent people of all races, backgrounds and abilities and show how far voting rights have come.
"Back then, it wasn't just necessarily handed to everybody," Lauren said.
The colorful mural will hang on the walls of Girard College during the King Day of Service, a visual reminder of what the day is about.
"I think that since we're all in the same world, we should make peace instead of fighting," said another artist, Layla Thomas, a 6th grader at Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy.
These children say they're proud to be a part of it.
"Remember, you know, that people fought for this, that you should respect this right, and it is a blessing," Lauren said.
People who want to sign up for the Martin Luther King Day of Service can do so here.