Jan 9 • 11M

Every day is MLK Day in Atlanta

Why wait 'till Jan 16 to celebrate?

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Connecting you with Atlanta's past, present and future
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Martin Luther King, Jr. State Capitol Memorial (photo by ATLsherpa)

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

From a letter written by Dr. King while in a Birmingham jail on April 16, 1963

Martin Luther King, Jr. State Capitol Memorial — 8 feet tall, bronze. Dedicated on August 28, 2017, the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech. Martin Dawe, Sculptor (photos by ATLsherpa) — click on image to enlarge

In this episode…

Each section has its own narration. Click on the audio players below to listen…

  1. Every day is MLK Day in Atlanta

  2. CONNECT: Take advantage of these exploration tools…

  3. SERVE: MLK Day of Service

  4. APPLY: The Drum Major Instinct

Every day is MLK Day in Atlanta

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  • Birthplace of Dr. King

  • MLK National Historical Park

  • Cradle of the Civil Rights Movement

The birth home of Martin Luther King, Jr. is located at 501 Auburn Ave NE in Atlanta (photo by ATLsherpa)

CONNECT: Take advantage of these exploration tools…

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There is no better way to CONNECT with Dr. King than to spend some time in the Visitor’s Center at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park (photo by ATLsherpa)

SERVE: MLK Day of Service

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On January 16, 2023, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday will mark the 28th anniversary of the national day of service. This day was established to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King, and to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. Source: U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity

APPLY: The Drum Major Instinct

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  • Organize a discussion group (friends, family, etc.)

  • Read this overview from Stanford

  • Read this article from The Atlantic (really speaks to Dr. King’s gift as an orator)

  • Listen to the speech (below)

  • Take notes

  • Discuss

    • Takeaways?

    • Relevance in 2023?

    • Action?

“And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.

Martin Luther King Jr. from his Drum Major Instinct Speech delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA on February 4, 1968 (this excerpt comes at 29:23 in video below)

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