For anyone who is, like me, at work and unable to get to that 11AM lecture, there will also be a service honoring King at the Saint Catherine of Sienna Catholic Church at 7PM on 331 E 71st.
A few more that are in today's Shreveport Times:
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050117/NEWS01/501170324SHREVEPORT
As part of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.'s national program, members will celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. by taking a "Day On, Not a Day Off." Members of Delta Lambda Omega Chapter will join with Shreveport Green in a beautification project at Linear Middle School, 1845 Linear St. Activities will include litter abatement, planting trees and spring bulbs, and painting a mural. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Lydia P. Jackson, state senator, will be the speaker during lunch. Call (318) 221-4928 for more information.
The Sigma Rho Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha will celebrate a day of service at 11 a.m. at Providence House, 814 Cotton St. Members will read stories and serve lunch to the residents. The lunch will start at noon.
"Remember! Celebrate! Act! A Day On, Not a Day Off" will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the WK Community Health and Education Center, 4700 Hilry Huckaby Ave.
The event is in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and is being held by NeighborHealth, a community service of Willis-Knighton Health System.
The event will include a pictorial exhibit of community education events, guest speaker David L. Hoey, past of the Lane Chapel CME Church, and an award for educational commitment and community service presented to Mary L. Wilson, retired from Southern University-Shreveport.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For information, call (318) 424-7900.
Also from today's Times:
King's life lessons turn into classroom studies
January 17, 2005
By Diane Haag
dhaag@gannett.com
Nearly 40 years after his death, Martin Luther King Jr. has made the pages of history books, influenced English lessons and been held as a model for character education.
In the weeks surrounding the celebration of his birth and the upcoming Black History Month, children across the area will be studying his life and philosophy.
The lessons start early, often beginning in social studies. Students learn about segregation and the movement led by King for racial equality.
"Initially they look at it as an event," said Gisele Proby Bryant, principal of Rusheon Middle School in Bossier City. "As they mature, they learn to discern the meaning of purposeful movement."
Sometimes students are surprised at what they hear, said Tracey Burrell, an English teacher at Parkway High School in Bossier City. She makes it a point for the students to read nonfiction selections this time of year to get the real story. She also shows her class Remember the Titans, a movie about integrating a high school football team, and the accompanying documentary.
"They're so used to having black students in class, they say, 'Was it really like that?'" Burrell said. "We watch the documentary, which shows the real people -- not just a movie."
As Burrell teaches the text, she also shares some of her own experiences growing up in Alabama with her predominately white classes. She reminds them that King's work allowed her to be where she is.
Two of Bryant's students will participate in Bossier Parish's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day event.
They both had a sense that things had changed and they were lucky.
"If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be here talking," 12-year-old Terrence Evans said.
Willie Blackshire, the Bossier Parish Title I supervisor, directs the annual event. She gives the children a chance to show off their talents while honoring the man she calls one of "America's Heroes."
She said the children have a good grasp of King's history.
"The school system does a real good job with lessons in relation to Dr. King and his legacy," Blackshire said. "The dream is becoming alive in the young people. We don't want them to forget his life and legacy long after we are gone off the scene."
Educators also make a point that King's work moved beyond just the black community.
"His legacy crosses all cultures," said Joe Huffman, principal at Parkway. "When I think of the 'I have a dream' speech, I'm moved by it in a variety of directions."
But King's work is more than history, teachers have found. The eloquent preacher wrote significant works of his own. As well, the dramatic events of the movement inspired fiction works.
One of Rusheon's English teachers, Aimee Norcross, has her students read a novel about the civil rights movement and study the "I have a dream" speech.
"It's wonderful to study and talk about the language he used," she said. "He was a brilliant man."
As Burrell plans Parkway's Black History Month assembly, she plans to include art and music classes as they celebrate the Harlem Renaissance.
Students also get some elementary lessons in philosophy as they study King's nonviolent approach to the civil rights movement.
"What I stress is the fact that he wanted equality but the way he went about it was passive," Norcross said. "They remember the marches and violence, but I stress he wasn't like that."
Through the study, King has been elevated to icon status for many of the children.
Teachers also try to include other leaders in their lessons and assignments, but they still often equate civil rights with King.
"He's a role model," 12-year-old Jasmine Jaggers said. "He helped us to be free. It's brilliant how one man can do so much."
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