post by CHC member, Carly K.
Throughout my high school English classes, my teachers emphasized using attention-grabbers at the beginning of an essay. One of the attention-grabbers they often suggested using was a quote. Quotes have the power to add a familiarity for the reader, and usually sum up the point of an essay better than the words of any young high schooler could (or at least better than I could). Therefore, I want to use the following quote to not only grab your attention, but to sum up how Chicago Health Corps spent January 16, 2012 remembering the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.:
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
As you might have guessed, MLK himself spoke those words to grab the attention of thousands of people and sum up the essay of his of life. On MLK day, CHC had the opportunity to remind people of the meaning of this quote by pairing up with hundreds of volunteers to paint murals and quotes of those people who were at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement. The event was hosted by City Year Chicago, an AmeriCorps program, and aimed to transform and uplift three community centers in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood.
CHC spent the day at Henry Ford Academy: Power House High painting quotes similar to the one previously mentioned. While our arms were a little sore throughout the day, the fatigue was alleviated by the energy that came with serving side by side with hundreds of other people and by the new sense of inspiration that the quotes brought to the school and the community. At the end of the day, our group left with a new mission to not only remember MLK’s legacy, but to continue to speak out “about the things that matter” (…I was also taught that quotes are a good closer to any quality essayJ).
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| Gathering at Henry Ford Powerhouse High in North Lawndale |
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| Make it a day on, not a day off. |
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| They had music. And so there was dancing. |
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| Oodles of volunteers. |
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| Neerja getting Winston's name up there. |
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| A quote about rage, or something :) Jessica and Sana. |
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| Matt and Sydney |
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| CHCer Devin (right) with our City Year group leader, Ariel (left). |
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| Lily, painting above the door. |
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| James holding liquid sunshine, with Lisa-Sun and Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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