Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a visionary and a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960’s. He stood for his beliefs, and he always encouraged diversity and equality.

Since Dr. King was such a fundamental part of African Americans receiving the rights that they constitutionally deserved.“It is important to remember him for his sacrifice through peaceful resistance and the role he played in the civil rights movement,” said Mr. Cook, a history teacher at Greater Latrobe Senior High School. We honor him as a nation every year on the third Monday of January.

This Martin Luther King Day, January 19, Americorps sponsored a creative event at the Center for Student Creativity. At this one of a kind event, all ages, genders, races, and abilities came together to construct a mural made of personally decorated paper hands.

Paul Markle, a member of Americorps, spread the word about the mural making through a flier advertisement, event emails throughout the community, and invitations to the schools in Greater Latrobe School District and various agencies and organizations.

The Americorps Organization was looking for a project that would get a large portion of the community involved in promoting equality and diversity. The main goal of the project was to make Martin Luther King Day a ‘”day on” rather than a “day off” of work or school for all of those involved,’ said Markle.

A member of Americorps sent Markle an image of a Martin Luther King inspired artwork with a quote and uniquely designed paper hands. He loved this idea, so Markle made it into a reality. Markle even claimed that, “The idea of getting together as a diverse community is in itself a portrayal of the theme of Martin Luther King Day.”

Carol Overly, the Pennsylvania Mountain Service Corps(PMSC) Program Manager, saw Martin Luther King Day as a prime opportunity “to reflect about how all ordinary American citizens can be involved in their community and solve challenges together.”

The PMSC Americorps members hope to always be involved in Martin Luther King Day and help the entire community become involved as well. Overly said, “It is important that American citizens take note that we all stand on the shoulders of those courageous souls that came before us and stood up against oppression of all forms and against all odds.”

The completed mural has plans of being featured in various venues and art shows. One of which will be the Creative Expressions Art and Music Show at the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center in March.

This exceptional service project is hoped to continue throughout the years to come in different forms with the same ideas behind them. Markle said, “The event itself will most likely evolve into various other forms, but the theme is evergreen.”