The third Monday of every January is a joyous occasion for all students, teachers and federal employees: a day off. But the stickers I saw today all said, “This isn’t a day off, this is a day ON.” Today, Monday, January 16, 2012 is a day ON: A day of remembrance, a day of unity, a day of thought, a day of action, community, speech, civic action, civil liberties, youth and power. Today, we celebrate the life and accomplishments of Doctor Reverend Martin Luther King Junior, and we celebrate the voices of our community and the freedom and opportunity we have to use those voices.
Here at DU, the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning (CCESL) hopes to engage those voices. CCESL encourages the involvement of college students in the Denver community doing volunteer work that is more sustainable and beneficial both to the student and the community partner. Through CCESL, DU students may partner with Public Achievement – an international organization aimed at promoting student involvement in the community to address problems and actively engage with citizenship and democracy. Us DU students partner with local high schools and serve with them every week to directly promote civic action and empowerment. In the last few months we have talked about diversity, power, democracy and how each of these concepts relate to our every day lives as youth in America. What better way to explore these ideas than to join our larger, Denver community in celebration of a man who embodied the adversity we face and the respect we deserve in search of our own voice.
With frozen toes, fingers and noses, DU coaches and students from South, KIPP and Manual High Schools huddled together anxiously awaiting the direction of someone in charge. Some simple posters, illustrating concerns of college and high school students alike are drawn up. A few steaming cups of hot chocolate, a handful of free goodies, and an impatient wait in the line for the outhouses later; a troop of young girls marches single-file past the crowd, dressed in bright purple cheer uniforms, carrying pom-poms. A crowd of City Year volunteers gather together, sporting their striking red jackets. A little girl donned in pink runs by offering bright blue 2012 Obama campaign stickers. Group after group unfurls their banner. Up With People joins the crowd with a dozen or more full-sized flags from countries represented by the current batch of volunteers, performers and travelers. Yellow Caution tape is used to designate the start of the Marade, and, after nearly two hours of trying to keep our extremities warm, we start to walk.
As the group turns on to Colfax and the road widens, groups spread out, breaking from the tight huddles that permeated the staging area at City Park. We get enveloped by the students of Up With People and join in with the chants of the group beside us, hoping to end police brutality against minorities. I get caught inside the blowing fabric of the Iraqi flag as I maneuver my way to get a better view of the men playing drums by the side of the road. I think on purpose I quickly lost track of the majority of my group. It was nice to feel included walking down a street of strangers. I knew what I was walking for. I was walking for voices; the ones we don’t hear in society. I was walking for victims of abuse and discrimination; for refugees and immigrants; for individuals that suffer from physical and mental afflictions; for those who simply need a hand. I was walking for myself and to start a dialogue on mental health and the ease with which this community could assist so many suffering from depression, schizophrenia and bipolar diseases. I know what I was walking for, and it was a great opportunity for me to ask what other people are walking for.
Today, people walked for education instead of incarceration; people walked in support of human rights and prosecution of international criminals; people walked with their churches and synagogues and temples; people walked wearing their identities on their sleeves, but everyone walked with the idea that as a community, when we are united we are strong, and there is no obstacle we cannot overcome.
As I spoke with each consecutive marcher, I took with me small pearls of wisdom. Wally, of the Islamic Nation, reminded me that faith should not divide us, but unite us in humanity. Bart, from Holland, observed that he had spent too much time out of touch with his community, and that he was eager to return and change that. Some of my students from South High School, joking around in Ethiopian, made me realize that Denver is home to colorful and diverse languages and cultures. To watch my students embrace friends they hadn’t expected to see and to hear them talk excitedly about why they were present assured me that I wasn’t the only one who learned something today.
At some point today, I realized that I expect more from humanity. I think the norm is that communities come together for events like Martin Luther King Jr. Day, or Fourth of July, or after a tragedy like 9/11. But what about the other 360 some other days of the year? In my head and my heart, every day should feel like today. Every day, people should be going out of their way to engage their neighbors in conversation, to listen to what someone else has to say, and to reach out a hand to those in need – whether they need something as simple as food, or as abstract as a voice. Maybe it was after CCESL provided us all lunch, sitting in Civic Center Park, as dozens of individuals came and asked us if we had food to spare. Maybe it was the two little girls, obviously fending for themselves, that meekly asked if there was anything left for them.
At some point today, in conversation or in observation, I realized that more has to be done. More college students need to give back to the high schools that taught them to value education. More adults need to give back to those still finding their feet, because not too long ago, they had a lot more in common. More citizens need to give back to their communities, because not all people are privileged enough to have their voice heard or their vote counted.
To my community, at the University of Denver, comprised of students, professors, faculty, administration, families and support staff in every field; we need to do (DU) more. While we come from extremely diverse backgrounds, in all regards, we have this university in common. After all we are a great private university, dedicate to the public good. CCESL is a start, but we can do a whole lot more. Please don’t wait another year to march with Denver in the Marade. Start engaging with your community today. Visit the CCESL office, volunteer in your neighborhood, but most important be mindful of your words and your actions. Take responsibility for your decisions, and be thankful for the opportunity you had to make it with your own free will. Celebrate your voice, and give voice to others.
- Hanna Hayden
