“Say Spinach! Say Kale!”
See how President Obama and the First Lady celebrated the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service by helping kids plant a garden at an elementary school home to many students from military families in this episode of West Wing Week.
President Obama welcomed Clarence Jones to the
White House today, who helped Martin Luther King. Jr draft his “I Have a
Dream” speech and served as his personal attorney and advisor. They
discussed the progress we’ve made as a nation on civil rights since the 1960s,
and the work that still remains.
President Obama and the First Lady work with the kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington as part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service.
“Today, we come together in a National Day of Service, because as Dr. King once said, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?’
On July 2, 1964, with Martin Luther King, Jr., directly behind him, President Lyndon Johnson scrawled his signature on a document years in the making—the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
…
The first and the signature pages of the act will be on display at the National Archives Rubenstein Gallery in Washington, DC, until September 17, 2014. These 50-year-old sheets of paper represent years of struggle and society’s journey toward justice.
“Our rights, our freedoms—they are not given. They must be won.” —President Obama on the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act
(via todaysdocument)
Earlier today, the Obamas prepared meals for local shelters at the DC Central Kitchen as part of the MLK Day of Service.
“Dr. King taught us that ‘an individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.’ In honor of this spirit, Americans across the country will come together for a day of service. By volunteering our time and energy, we can build stronger, healthier, more resilient communities. Today, let us put aside our narrow ambitions, lift up one another, and march a little closer to the nation Dr. King envisioned.” —President Obama on MLK Day.
President Obama, President Clinton, and President Carter will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington tomorrow.
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