Democracy and gun violence take center stage at Martin Luther King Day of Service

Hundreds of volunteers gathered at the Girard College gym on a freezing Monday morning to participate in the 29th annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service.

The participants were a small fraction of the 100,000 people who signed up to volunteer in projects throughout the region, according to Global Citizen 365, the organization that hosts the event on the federal holiday marking the civil rights icon’s birthday.

“This is more than just a birthday celebration,” said Todd Bernstein, president of Global Citizen. “It’s an opportunity to embrace Dr. King’s legacy of civil rights and social justice.”

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At the event’s opening ceremony, elected officials including Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke about King’s legacy, and reminded the audience about his famous speech at a 1965 rally to desegregate Girard College.

Among those dignitaries was Girard College graduate Jeffery Young.

The newly minted City Council member, representing the 5th District, graduated from Girard nearly two decades ago. Back at his alma matter, Young drew a straight line from the achievements of the civil rights movement to his career. It was activists and organizers in the 1960s who “helped lead the way to open the door for me to get the proper education necessary to become a successful leader in this city,” he said.

Young spoke to the crowd of volunteers about the unrelenting toll of gun violence in Philadelphia. Early Sunday morning, two people were killed and four others wounded in a shooting in Strawberry Mansion. Overall, homicides in 2023 declined by about 20% compared to 2022 but remained at a level higher than most years in the last decade.

“In the light of yesterday’s tragedy, let Dr. King’s teachings resonate with each one of us for renewed urgency,” Young said. “We can’t be passive bystanders.”

One of the day’s largest volunteer projects was aimed at ameliorating some of the pain of the gun violence epidemic.

Prince Matthews, 15, spent his morning packing wound-care supplies and hygiene toiletries into kits that will be distributed in Philly hospitals to victims of gun violence.

“It’s going to a good cause, so that makes me happy,” Matthews said.

The project is a collaboration between Jefferson Health, Penn Medicine, and Temple Health. Elected officials and other community leaders raced to see who could assemble kits fastest.

Thomas Jefferson University is celebrating its 200th anniversary, and the day of service was part of the celebration, said Baligh Yehia, president of Jefferson Health.

“We’ve committed to doing 200,000 hours of community service,” Baligh said. “What better way to kick off the year than being here?”

Jefferson and Penn Medicine representatives also taught attendees how to pack wounds and stop bleeding. In the other side of the gym, firefighters taught CPR.

In the booth next to the kit-packing assembly line were representatives from the offices of the Philadelphia City Commissioners and Committee of Seventy, a local good-governance nonprofit. Volunteers filled folders with voter registration forms and information about voting.

Teresa O’Brien came to Girard College from South Jersey to participate. A programmer at Independence Blue Cross, O’Brien chose to help with the voter packets because it’s important to her that everyone has a chance to participate in democracy. She said the experience gave renewed meaning to the federal holiday.

“This makes me think it’s more than a day off,” O’Brien said. “We have a responsibility and something to do.”

The voter-registration packets weren’t the only voting-related activities. Attendees could learn how to use a voting machine, or create art to inspire others to participate in elections. The art will be displayed across the city as part of a Mural Arts Philadelphia project.

While the gym was bustling with activity, Karen Asper-Jordan was at the auditorium of the Girard College elementary school just a short walk away.

Asper-Jordan is the president of the Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters, the group of organizers who protested in 1965 to desegregate Girard College. In the elementary school auditorium, the Freedom Fighters put up an exhibit about the history of their protests. They were hosting with 57 Blocks Project a screening of a movie about Moore and a panel discussion about gun violence prevention after the volunteer projects.

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It’s important to Asper-Jordan that the younger generation learn from her generation’s struggle. And seeing the turnout to the MLK Day of Service, with so many young people, she was hopeful.

Asper-Jordan still remembers the time that Black students could not attend Girard College, which was integrated in 1968 after a court order. So seeing Young arrive to the event as a Council member was special. She believed that would give students motivation and inspiration.

“Can you imagine, you have a Council member who went to Girard College?” Asper-Jordan mused. “You can’t beat that.”