MLK's Spirit Lives in Volunteers

By Jeff Young -- 1/19/09

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a holiday with many different meanings.  

For some, it's a day of remembrance.  For others, it's a day to give.

And that's exactly what was happening today outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library here in Washington, D.C. Dr. King's spirit of unconditional love and caring seemed to permeate the air.  Several hundred people shuffled through long lines in the bitter cold to give canned goods and clothes to those less fortunate. 

But the good samaritan deeds did not go unrewarded.  One of the event's sponsors Feeding America put on a concert. Performers included Josh Groban and Herbie Hancock. There were surprise appearances by actors Ben Affleck and David Arquette. 
  
The air was electrified when the Mighty Marching Machine suddenly swept into the concert area blaring trumpets and trombones and beating on drums.  The 80 member marching band is from the Paul Laurence Dunbar Vocational Career Academy in Chicago.  It is a public school which was established in 1942 as a trade school for African American students.  Its mission is to prepare students for college and work.  It is 3 miles from the Obama Chicago home but is in the area of the notorious Robert Taylor Housing Projects.  

The students performed for about only 5 minutes but their impact hung in the air for a long time.

By the time the concert was over, many homeless had new clothes and food to fill their stomachs. On the other side of the poverty line many left the show knowing they had played a major role in keeping Martin Luther King Jr.'s spirit alive.