‘Day On, Not Off’ to serve community on MLK Day

For the first time in five years, eight groups totalling 120 participants participated in the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ “Day On Not Off” Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan. 16  – serving the community in various capacities. The Office of Black Catholic Ministries coordinated the day. Here is a teen reflection on what the day meant to Academy of Our Lady student Amy Ramos.

Amy Ramos
Freshman
Academy of Our Lady

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) in his “I Have A Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.


This quote from Dr. King’s speech was used in a prayer service to kick off the annual “Day On, Not Off” service day Jan. 16 coordinated by the archdiocesan Office of Black Catholic Ministries. The prayer service was held before our Academy of Our Lady (AOL) group headed to Second Harvest Food Bank.

On this day, thanks to Dr. King’s honorable protests and speeches, people of all races and ethnicities are no longer segregated and have the liberty to work as one. This was his dream, and the AOL service group was one of the many groups that were accomplishing his dream.

Frankly, before we even started at Second Harvest, I asked myself why I really came. Why couldn’t I just have stayed home and enjoyed my three-day weekend?

These thoughts also may have crossed my service partners’ minds. I believe we did not truly understand why this service was in remembrance of Dr. King.

At AOL, it seems as if we always do something with a purpose behind it, which our principal, Salesian Sister Michelle Geiger, makes sure we understand by giving us wise words every morning.

My assumption that the day would begin with service work was wrong. The coordinators of the day made sure we understood the true meaning of why we were doing service that day – that we were all able to work as a united community, regardless of the color of our skin or where we were from.

Everyone had freedom and liberty, and we were not suppressed by the injustice of segregation. We were equal. And, on that day, we effectively worked together as a community to help show that together we work better as one.

As I reflected on MLK Day, I realized that the endless bags of potatoes we sacked and the food and produce we organized could not have been done without everyone’s help.

Matthew 25:40 states, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

That day was not only to honor Dr. King for his work, but to honor God by using the gifts he provided in allowing us to be a united community. As we sacked potatoes and organized produce, which will assist those in need, we lived Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision by showing the true content of our character beyond our color.