1 of 6 | U.S. President Barack Obama paints a quote "The time is always right to do what is right" from Martin Luther King, Jr, as the president joins volunteers in a library, participating in a service project, at Browne Education Center, in Washington, DC, USA, on the Martin Luther King Jr national holiday, January 16, 2012. The project was in memory of the legacy of community service, promoted by the late civil rights leader, who was assassinated in 1968. UPI/Mike Theiler/Pool |
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WASHINGTON, Ga., Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Anyone, no matter what age, can perform an act of service, something civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. would appreciate, U.S. President Obama said.
"Whether you're 7 or 6 or whether you're 76, then you can find opportunities to make an enormous difference in your community," Obama said Monday while giving his time at Browne Education Campus, which serves Washington-area children from preschool through 8th grade. "And at a time when the country has been going through some difficult economic times, for us to be able to come together as a community … that's ultimately what makes us the strongest, most extraordinary country on Earth, is because we pull together when times are good, but also when times are hard. And you guys all represent that."
People across the United States honored King's life and legacy with parades, church services, exhibits, community service projects and other tributes.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate would have turned 83 this year. He was assassinated outside of a Memphis motel room April 4, 1968, at the age of 39. The federal holiday in honor of King was first observed in 1986 and eight years later Congress also designated it as a national day of service.
Obama used the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr. Day to address the controversy surrounding a quote chiseled into the memorial to the slain civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The King quote now reads, "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness," but the full quote is "Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for peace, that I was a drum major for righteousness."
Critics said the shortened quote misrepresents King's intent and presents him as egotistical. The Interior Department has ordered the quote be replaced.
"If you look at that speech talking about Dr. King as a drum major, what he really said was that all of us can be a drum major for service, all of us can be a drum major for justice," Obama said. "There's nobody who can't serve. Nobody who can't help somebody else."
This was the third year that Obama and his family performed an act of services in the Washington area.
"There's no better way to celebrate Dr. King than to do something on behalf of others," Obama said, later adding, "I'm sure Dr. King, were he here, he'd want to say thank you."
As part of the nationwide celebration of his life, never-before-seen documents from King and other key figures in the U.S. civil rights movement became accessible online Monday at The King Center Web site.
The King Center Imaging Project matched JPMorgan Chase's technology expertise with center's archives to preserve and share King's works in a more accessible way, JPMorgan Chase said in a release. AT&T Business Solutions and EMC also worked on the nine-month project.
Tens of thousands of documents -- such as postcards, speeches, telegrams, meeting minutes and newspaper articles -- now are available in the digital archive at www.thekingcenter.org/archive.
