LUBBOCK, Texas — Lubbock residents of all ages celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day by volunteering with the Lubbock Roots Historical Arts Council.
Theresa Wilson took her children to volunteer because she wants to teach them to give back to the community.
“I want to teach them the importance of serving others first and MLK did that for us,” she said. “He kind of was the first example. It’s because he stepped up for us.”
Deja Montgomery, a student at Texas Tech, said the will to help others like Dr. King did lives inside many.
“It’s in our blood, it’s in our heritage, and our history. We look back on history and we see the things that we have done and we can only strive to do just as good or try to be just as good as he was,” she said.
Kaitlin Washington is also a student at Texas Tech and she said getting up early didn’t phase her.
“In the example of MLK, there are people in his day that sacrificed their lives for us much like Jesus sacrificed his life for us,” she said. “It’s nothing for us to sacrifice a couple of hours to be out here and help the community.”
Shirley Green with the Roots Historical Arts Council said MLK believed in a better life for all.
“I think that we need to understand that MLK was not from one particular race or gender,” said Green. “He was for everyone and all ages, for all the work that he did in the community and the followers, that we need to keep the spirit alive and hope.”
