Honoring MLK: JBPHH volunteers spread message of tolerance, equality

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Terri Paden
  • 15th Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii --  In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Airmen and Sailors from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, read to elementary school students in the local community Jan. 15.

In keeping with this year's observance theme: "Remember! Act! Celebrate! A Day on Not a Day Off," more than 30 volunteers read books which were either biographical in nature or promoted the principals King famously stood by.

"I think it is timely to spread his message, and if we plant those seeds now, then it will help our kids go on to be better citizens," said Senior Master Sgt. Harvey Philson, 647th Force Support Squadron Personnel Flight superintendent and MLK Day project chair.

Philson said the event played well into King's message of giving back to the community.

The books, which were either chosen by the reader or hand-picked from the school libraries, were age appropriate based on the grade level. In addition to teaching the children about who King was, they also chose books which focused on King's insistence on having a tolerant and diverse society free of bullying and violence.

"Even though Dr. King was not from this generation, his principals are still relevant today and if we take the time to spread his message to our children then they will be able to learn about him and his legacy and what he stood for," Philson said. "I believe knowing who he was is important, but I believe knowing what he stood for is even more important in my opinion."

Philson said his main objection for the event was to educate.

"If we are able to inform our children when they are young and teach them about respecting each other and being tolerant when they are still on the playground, then those children will grow up with those same values and I can't think of any better time or way to teach them that," he said.

At the end of each book, the volunteers took time to discuss the message with the students.

Though King is widely honored for his work as a civil rights activist, Philson said it's important for the community to celebrate his life and achievements together as one group.

"From the start, we wanted to make sure even the volunteers were a diverse group of people," he said. "We wanted to make sure when they went into the classrooms, the students recognized [anyone can] appreciate what Dr. King stood for. His principles apply to people of all ethnicities."

According to 1st Lt. Stephen Shaffer, 8th Intelligence Squadron section commander and volunteer reader, he felt a duty to take the time to educate the children on one of the people who paved the way for equality in America.

"I've hopefully impressed upon them that the hard work and sacrifice of MLK is what helped us get to where we are today," he said. "I wanted to help mentor this younger generation and hopefully show them the importance of equality."

Shaffer said he was pleasantly surprised to see just how interested and aware the students were on the subject of King and the civil rights movement and was pleased to see how informed they were about topics like acceptance and equality. Shaffer said he attributes the heightened awareness to the children growing up in military communities and families where diversity is commonplace.

After the reading, the children asked many questions regarding the life and death of King.

"The kids have been really engaged today," said Alyssa Yengo, Hickam Elementary School project coordinator. "This may be some of the little guy's first exposure to the subject, but they all like learning about heroes and were excited to do something different. That it was service members reading the stories to them made the event even more special."