Community members and organizations will collaborate to honor the work of two civil-rights leaders next week.
The TeamBayard MLK Day of Service planning committee is organizing a Jan. 16 event featuring performances, guest speakers, food and volunteer opportunities at the William Way LGBT Community Center. Volunteers at the MLK Day of Service will honor the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bayard Rustin, a black gay activist who organized the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The event is registered with Global Citizen’s MLK365, a national organization dedicated to promoting “sustainable civic engagement and volunteer opportunities year-round,” according to Global Citizen’s website.
“The overall mission is to bring nonprofit organizations and community members together to help serve the community in honor of King, Rustin and the movement toward civil rights and equality,” said Sharron Cooks, a chairperson for TeamBayard.
The event will be split up into three sections, with volunteer activities beginning at noon, performances and guest speakers beginning at 3:15 p.m. and dinner accompanied by more performances immediately afterward.
Volunteer opportunities will include a clothing donation drive with Philly AIDS Thrift; diaper banking with the Center for Leadership, Development and Advocacy; assembling a safe-sex kit with The Colours Organization; HIV testing, counseling and resources with Philadelphia FIGHT; and a Gayborhood street clean-up.
“When a person walks into the William Way LGBT Community Center for the Martin Luther King Day of Service and sees activity going on, it gives a sense of unity and service,” Cooks said. “Everyone’s donating their energy and their labor to assembling something that’s going to benefit Philadelphia and the community. When you see so many different people from so many different backgrounds and ethnicities working hand in hand, you see that we’re all just the same and we all have the same needs. It is possible for people to be different but still work together for the greater good of the community.”
Guest speakers will include Meagan Mcleod, a youth pastor of Tabernacle United Church; Malcolm Kenyatta, a Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce member; and Ernest Owens, editor of G Philly. Sister Cities Girlchoir and Terrell Green will perform songs and a one-man show, respectively. Bubbas Kitchen N Good Eats will cater the dinner.
Cooks mentioned TeamBayard’s tagline, “Taking Pride in the Work We Do Together.” She said sponsorship from William Way and Woody’s helped them produce the event in the fashion they would like.
“Everyone has really done their part in coming together,” Cooks said. “[The event is] uniting all different races and all different backgrounds. We are all doing this in respect to equality and civil rights.”
Additionally, Cooks mentioned the current political climate and how the event can help the community remember the messages of King and Rustin.
“Right now, in the climate that we’re in politically, it is very important for us to remember the values of equality and civil rights,” Cooks said.
She added the program will give others “hope” and “feel a sense of unity and oneness.”
“It’s one of those things that you have to experience. You can’t necessarily describe it.”
The MLK Day of Service will begin at noon Jan. 16 at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. Interested volunteers can email [email protected].