Serve Your Community on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Categories: Diversity & Inclusion

Service Through the Eyes of Dr. King

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a trailblazer in the civil rights and community service arenas. In his early years, Dr. King entered Morehouse College at 15, where he received some of his first experiences in activism and servant leadership.

As he emerged in the spotlight, Dr. King made a massive impact through his preaching and emotional speeches that humanized his community's struggle to gain civil rights. He achieved many accomplishments in his life, including being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Dr. King believed in a vision of a "Beloved Community." His wife, Coretta Scott King, was quoted as saying, "The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others."

Flagship's Commitment to Inclusion

In the spirit of Dr. King's legacy, our Inclusion and Diversity Employee Action Group - also known as the IDEA Group, is committed to driving change by tapping into the ideas of our employees.

Through the IDEA Group, Flagship has added in many inclusion initiatives such as:

  • Implementing Diversity & Inclusion training at all levels of the company.
  • Adding "Inclusion" to our list of core values and building a communication program around it.
  • Creating new employee programs, charitable contributions, and opportunities to volunteer with non-profits and other organizations to advance diversity and inclusion in our communities.

MLK Day is "a day on, not a day off."

There are many ways to honor Dr. King's dynamic legacy. Here are a few things you can do for MLK Day:

  • Take a Virtual Tour of the National Civil Rights Museum.
  • The Smithsonian looks for volunteers who can transcribe historical documents for more accessibility.
  • The National Archives allows volunteer citizen archivists to tag, transcribe and make records more accessible and searchable.
  • Explore speeches from Dr. King.
  • Research in-person volunteer opportunities in your community.
  • Research virtual volunteer opportunities.
  • Donate to an organization. Numerous organizations like The King Center continue the work Dr. King began. Additionally, you can research other causes that align with Dr. King's ideology and give back.
  • Our very own IDEA Group has been invited to participate in the Dallas Dinner Table. This event is designed to encourage conversations about race relations and the impact of ethnicity in relationships, educate participants about perspectives held by others, and empower individuals to develop relationships with people from various racial/ethnic groups.