Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day programming is diverse and available online and in person. Virtual events are free but require Zoom registration.
Commemorating Dr. King: Readings, Reflections, and Family Activities at Eastern State Penitentiary
Dr. King’s civil rights works will be celebrated in the Eastern State Penitentiary for a day. The 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” and “I Have a Dream” speeches are examples. Other civil rights leaders who were imprisoned include George Jackson, Angela Y. Davis, Malcom X, and Ida B. Wells.
Talk to guest speakers who will read from Dr. King’s and other civil rights leaders’ works. Specific themes will inspire reflection and group debate in the passages. Readings begin at 11:00 am and are scheduled every twenty minutes. Seating is limited.
Family-friendly programming includes instructors hosting story times with civil rights-themed children’s literature. Additional learning activities include specially designed hands-on activities.
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Engage, Reflect, and Commemorate
Visitors can be offered resources to write postcards to Pennsylvania prisoners.
Visitors should dress for the weather. Some parts of the institution are climate-controlled, although others are outside due to visitor passageways. Celebrating Dr. King’s legacy and the civil rights movement’s continued impact is important and educational.
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