Monday January 18th 2021 will have numerous in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr through community service. Let EPX help you find the day of service activity best for you:
In-person activities:
- Mifflin Square Park Cleanup: 6th & Wolf Streets Time: 11am-1pm Masks are mandatory. Social distancing will be enforced. Tools and equipment will be sanitized between uses. Hand sanitizer and masks will be provided to all attendees who do not have their own. Sign up here
- Southwark Elementary Cleanup: A gathering of Southwark staff, families, and neighbors on Monday to clean up the school yard and surrounding neighborhood. Time: 9-11am Location: Back parking lot on the 8th Street side, not the front door on 9th Street. Will provide gloves and trash bags. Masks and physical distancing are required to maintain COVID-19 safety precautions.
- Join the Lower Moyamensing Civic Association’s Environmental Committee for a socially distanced MLK Day of Service at SPHS Gardens! When: Monday, 1/18/21, 11a.m. – 1p.m Where: 2101 S. Broad St., Jackson St. side garden entrancePlease wear a mask, remember to observe all safety guidelines, and stay home if you are feeling ill. Gloves, tools, and sanitizing spray will be provided. No restroom facilities are available. Questions or concerns? Please contact us at lomophilly@gmail.com or 267-544-9597
Virtual opportunities:Â
- Uhuru Furniture MLK Day Event: Time: 10 – 11:15am Historic films of the African community struggle for freedom and self-determination featuring MLK and Malcolm X. See what APEDF and the Uhuru Movement are doing to carry on that legacy today. Register on Eventbrite to get the Zoom invitation.
- Self Incorporated Virtual Forum: Inequity & Injustice – Empowering Lessons from Covid-19. Time: 10-11:30am via zoom. Meeting ID 83958902121 Password 101715 RSVP to hopkinsd@selfincorp.org. Strengthening and Empowering Lives and Futures - SELF is a 501 (c) (3 ) that provides emergency and permanent supportive housing, housing-focused case management, mentoring, and other vital services and resources for Philadelphia’s most resilient communities. What Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said at a press conference before the American Medical Association’s conference in Chicago, Illinois still rings true today. According to the March 26, 1966, Associated Press release about the conference, King said that massive direct action is needed to raise the consciousness of the nation to the segregated and inferior medical care received by Negroes. “We are concerned about the constant use of federal funds to support the most notorious expression of segregation. Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death.â€
A recent report form the Brookings Institution suggests that the novel coronavirus is the third leading cause of death for Black Americans. Only cancer and heart disease are deadlier. According to the report, Black people are twice as likely to die from the virus compared to their white and Asian counterparts. A report from American Public Media Research showed that Black people, along with Latinos, are four times more likely to be hospitalized compared to white patients.
The Brookings Institution study also looked at the economic ramifications of Covid-19 on the Black community. It suggests that 50 percent of Black people live in households that have lost income since the pandemic started and found that 20 percent of Black families experience some form of food insecurity exacerbated by the pandemic.
During the forum we will highlight these inequities as seen through the lenses of faith-based, healthcare and blue-collar community members and leaders.
