‘Honor Dr. King’s legacy’: Children learn about civil rights leader at start of Dream Week
- KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Annamarie Wuerthner, left, and daughter Cecelia, 2, of Williamsport, make a “shaker egg” musical instrument with Kali eggler of Americorp, right, during the MLK Day Children’s event at the James V. Brown Library in Williamsport.
- KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Darian Jones, Americorp service member, reads a children’s book about Martin Luther King Jr., during the MLK Day Children’s event at the James V. Brown Library in Williamsport.
- KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Darian Jones, Americorp service member, reads a children’s book about Martin Luther King Jr., during the MLK Day Children’s event at the James V. Brown Library in Williamsport.

KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Darian Jones, Americorp service member, reads a children's book about Martin Luther King Jr., during the MLK Day Children's event at the James V. Brown Library in Williamsport.
The first observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Williamsport was held at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 1986, so it was fitting that 39 years later, after cold weather prompted the organizers of this year’s Dream Week kick-off to move the event indoors, the site chosen was the historical church on Hepburn Street.
Originally, a peace walk had been scheduled to start and end at the church, but the weekend’s snow and frigid temperatures caused a change in plans.
Earlier in the day, area children and their caretakers had been treated to a storytime and activities at the James V. Brown Library. The story, “You Can Be a King,” encouraged the children to “have a dream,” and to live out the attributes that King championed.
“I think that small children definitely understand more than we give them credit for,” said Darian Jones, with AmeriCorps, who read the story to the young children. STEP AmeriCorps is instrumental in organizing the activities during Dream Week.
“Even though some of the things that Dr King talked about can be a bit complicated for younger kids, when you can take some of those core pieces, like love, kindness, standing up against bullies, standing up for what’s right, those are things that kids, even as young as three or four can understand. And so I think starting it here is important, creating that foundation is important,” she added.

KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Annamarie Wuerthner, left, and daughter Cecelia, 2, of Williamsport, make a "shaker egg" musical instrument with Kali eggler of Americorp, right, during the MLK Day Children's event at the James V. Brown Library in Williamsport.
June Aungst, of Williamsport, agreed. She had brought her 7-year-old granddaughter, Adalinn, to the program because she wanted her to understand what King taught about how he stood up for the rights of people.
“He told them that everybody can get along without fighting,” Aungst said.
Another parent, Emily Haywood, who had brought her two young children to the storytime stressed that learning about King and what he did is an “important part of our history.”
“It’s nice for him to hear things from other people as well, for him to be involved in different things in the community,” she added.
Monday’s events kicked off “Dream Week,” which takes the teachings of King and translates

KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Darian Jones, Americorp service member, reads a children's book about Martin Luther King Jr., during the MLK Day Children's event at the James V. Brown Library in Williamsport.
them into acts of service in the community.
“Today we gather not just to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but to reflect on his vision of a more just, inclusive and compassionate world…the beloved community,” Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter told the group of young and not-so-young people gathered at the church around noon.
“Dr. King created a society where love and justice triumph over hatred and inequality. He taught us that the beloved community is not a utopia we wait for. It is a reality we must build together,” Slaughter said.
“It requires the courage to confront injustice, the humility to seek reconciliation and a commitment to work tirelessly for equity and understanding,” he added.
Slaughter said he sees “glimmers” of that vision every day around the city.
“When we care for one another, advocate for the marginalized and choose empathy over division, we take steps toward creating that community,” he said.
He offered cautionary words from King – “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“So, let today not only be a day of remembrance, but a call to action. Let us ask ourselves how can we strengthen the bonds with new neighbors? How can we ensure opportunity for every child? How can we together turn this city into a model of unity and equity? The Beloved Community is within reach, but only if we reach together,” Slaughter said.
“Let us honor Dr. King’s legacy by recommitting ourselves to his dream. Let us act as one,” he added.
Patrick Jackson, member and worship leader at Bethel, also addressed the group. He acknowledged that much has been accomplished since King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, but that “there is still much work that needs to be done even in 2025.”
“We still have a mission and that mission that we have today is to be the dream,” he said.
“Be the dream by holding the country to its own creed…and that’s through our voice, and through our voice to produce change and advancement for our people in this nation. Be the dream by allowing the content that we display to be the representation of our character. Be the dream by teaching the next generation that they are more than the stereotypes that this society tries to put them (in). Be the dream by demonstrating unity in our families, our communities, our nation and in our race, because united, we stand but divided we fall. Be the dream by displaying the greatest commandment of them all, and that’s to love your neighbor just like you love yourself. And if we display that command, we will see change within our communities and with inside our families,” Jackson said.
Lalitha Durlin, executive director of the Favors Forward Foundation, shared with the group the history of King and how the day came to be designated in honor of him and what he had achieved.
“Many of us know Martin Luther King Jr. as a dynamic leader in the civil rights movement who made groundbreaking progress in the awareness and policy affecting racial discrimination,” Durln said.
He grew up, she said, like many others – middle class, good parents, access to education – but with a significant difference.
“He was an African-American growing up in the segregated South,” Durlin said.
“At 15 he began a crucial journey of education that would lead him to become the man we honor today.” she said.
A summer spent on a farm in Connecticut where “he was exposed to a world outside of the segregated south. One where life was not separated by difference, but united it,” she said.
“This sparked a passion for activism to fight against the barriers to help African-American communities thrive in education, wealth and social status,” Durlin said.
King’s achievements included working to end legal segregation, and advocating for the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, which was passed a little over 60 years ago.
“What courage It must have taken him to turn his experiences, some painful, into a power that changed the lives of people of color in the United States forever. He stood up against what he knew to be wrong, peacefully, and effectively winning over the hearts and minds of many who saw him as a humble, passionate, educated and relatable leader, but also facing many critics,” she said.
“Today I am encouraging you to honor the legacy of MLK by having great courage to fight for what is right and for those who do not have a voice.
She challenged the people gathered in the church, including some of the children who had been at the library’s storytime and still sported their crowns to “make a difference in the world around you, big or small and do it to the best of your ability.”
“Do not allow hate to make your heart hardened towards others, do the work needed to ensure that we all have the chance to live our dreams, no matter our background, ethnicity or status. You define who you are in this world…have the courage to be open minded, move with love and fight for justice; honor the dream of MLK,” she said.
AmeriCorps facilitates activities for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Dream Week to educate students about King’s mission.