In celebration of Martin Luther King, The Homewood-Flossmoor community held two events, meant to honor the late activist.

The first of which was the “Pursuing the Dream” event which happened on Wednesday, Jan. 15th. The other being the “Day of Service”, which actually happened on Martin Luther King Day, on Jan. 20th.

At “Pursuing the Dream”, which was organized by guidance counselor Broderick Booth and sponsored by the Multicultural Club on behalf of HF alum Andre Thomas, in which Mr. Booth brought together a program, in which the audience saw numerous performances by HF students, teachers,activities and other speakers.

These performances included a speech by Josiah Griggs’, the HF staff in the form of Virtuous Voices, the HF Steppers, Poetic expressions and personal stories from Jade Greear and Danielle Perry.

“Pursuing the dream has been going on for 5 years now, and it grows every year. It’s a broad showcase of diversity and inclusivity and overall is a night full of celebration in honor of the late Dr. King,” Multicultrual club member and senior Carl Braxton said.

The main theme of the night was celebrating Dr. King and continuing his legacy.

“If we do not recognize history and important components of it, it will repeat itself. Dr. King has the fundamental answer to many of the issues we face and while philosophical in nature, service, love, kindness, empathy, and aspiring for better are universal,” Booth said.

Booth was also very candid in people joining and helping out with pursuing the dream and overall continuing Dr. King’s legacy.
In regards to the current attendance for “Pursuing the dream” and what he hopes is in store for the future.

“It increases, albeit subtly every year. Ideally, we’d like to fill the auditorium and potential do an abbreviated version during the school day,” said Booth.

Booth hopes the event continues to grow and continues to have the support of the community.

“Success is measured by getting the desired result, which it does in promoting MLK and celebrating diversity and components of black history. This event will continue to grow as more members of the school and community participate and attend,” expressed Booth.

Not only does H-F offer pursuing the dream to honor MLK day, but a whole day of service. The Village of Flossmoor offers over 20 different service projects for all community members to participate in. MLK day is encouraged to be a day on not a day off.

One of the 20 plus projects was a shoe drive in which they collected hundreds of shoes.

“I volunteered for the shoe drive which I would say was 100% successful . I don’t know the exact number, however I would say we collected over 200 pairs of shoes to deliver to people in need,” senior and NHS member Mia Pravdic said.

Martin Luther King envisioned a community centered around togetherness and volunteering. King hoped that service was something everyone could come together and do.

“Each and every single person can work together to help strengthen our community through community service, among other things. Even if you’re not in National Honor Society it’s very easy to reach out to local programs through things like churches, community centers, etc. A little bit of research can help you find a ton of programs” Pravdic said.

These two events gave the community a chance to learn about King’s message and a great opportunity to volunteer.

“Pursuing the dream also relates to actual Martin Luther King Day very well. As after you attend pursuing the dream, and are hopefully inspired by all the amazing performances and speakers, you’ll hopefully go out into the world and try to make a difference in somebody else’s life. Especially during the day of service that takes place on Martin Luther King Day.”