Leader of Civil Rights March Shaped By Exposure to Segregation, Racial Bias

When she was in the sixth grade, when she still wanted to be a pediatrician and not a lawyer for revolutionaries, Soffiyah Elijah entered her first integrated school in Hempstead, Long Island. She remembers that in response to integration the administration of the school then segregated the classrooms. So she spent her first day in an integrated school among all black students.

Voices from the King Center

On a day of celebration and remembrance, young visitors to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta told the JJIE what the man and his work from four decades ago mean to them and the world today. We asked: "Why do you think the work of Martin Luther King is important to us today?" These are their responses. Photographs by Jenni Girtman.  

Grant Teaches Martin Luther King’s Values to Kids, Communities

The Corporation for National and Community Service offers funding for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service 2012. The funds support organizations that bring communities together through volunteering and civic engagement. In order to qualify for the funding, grantees must choose a subgrant that focuses on one of the six CNCS Strategic areas, including education. The deadline for this is July 21, 2011. "Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?’" -– Martin Luther King, Jr.
CNCS is that nations largest grantmaker for service and volunteering.