Be a Civic Hero This Weekend

The best way to honor someone’s memory is to carry their legacy forward in your own day-to-day actions. Maybe you do this all the time—and that’s awesome! This weekend, as Philadelphia honors the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., there are a ton of special events happening around the city, all focused on civic action and activism, social justice, and community-building. Philadelphia hosts the largest MLK Day event in the nation, with tens of thousands of participants.

If you’re looking for a way to work art into your weekend, we’ll be offering a special civic heroes-themed trolley tour on Saturday, January 13 (tickets available here). You can also find our historic West Philadelphia Dr. King mural involved in the festivities on January 15, for the sixth annual Peace March. The Mantua Civic association—along with City Representative Sheila Hess, Congressman Dwight Evans, Senator Vincent Hughes, Representative Vanessa Lowery Brown, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, and at-large members of City Council—will hold a public speaking program in front of the mural at 40th and Lancaster, kicking off at noon.

At Girard College, home base for MLK Day of Service, check out our coloring activity in the Kids’ Carnival (in the Armory, 9:30–11:30 a.m.), and help paint a small mural on the general floor. Our Restorative Justice Guild will be at work at Sayre High School on Monday, painting hallways and doors with the First Judicial District, the Office of State Representative Joanna McClinton, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and Sayre Health Center. Not sure how to spend your time? Here are a few events that we’re excited about: