PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ More than 125,000 volunteers are expected to work on 1,700 projects as the Philadelphia region celebrates Martin Luther King Day.
One of the busiest sites will be Girard College in North Philadelphia, where thousands are expected to turn out for activities that range from a job fair to a performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra.
The orchestra is performing its 24th annual King Tribute Concert.
Mayor Michael Nutter is set to be on hand to help pack up school supplies, books and computers that have been donated for the city’s most needy public schools.
Organizers are also marking the 60th anniversary of the 1954 Brown versus Board of Education decision, the Supreme Court ruling that banned segregation in schools.
Girard, once a boarding school for underprivileged white boys, now serves a racially diverse mix of boys and girls from low-income families.
Dr. King had visited the school in 1965, joining Philadelphia NAACP President Cecil B. Moore and thousands of others who demanded that the school open its doors to people of all races.
Some of the demonstrators, known as the Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters, will be on hand Monday to share their experiences at a workshop.
Girard College will also display a large mural painted by students from across the region that commemorates the annual King Day of Service.

Related Posts