Over Martin Luther King Weekend, Cadence Youth All Stars came together to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy through education, service, and action.
“We still have so much to learn from this preacher of racial justice, and much work to do to follow his blue prints for action,” said Taylor Kuyk-White, Cadence Youth Cycling’s program manager, who helped organize the event with Cadence’s Youth Advisory Committee.
Cadence has been working with local community groups more lately, and has been going out of its way to find more ways to serve. So, many looked up ways they could spend the weekend serving, and came up with the Children’s Literacy Project, an organization that records books on tape for children throughout Philadelphia.
There was a specific emphasis on multicultural books; many YAC members thought it would be cool for children around the city to hear books on tape read by teenagers they could relate to. That event was hosted by University of Pennsylvania, and also featured incredible speakers. One of whom, Feminista Jones, spoke to how modern day institutions have hurt communities of color and what can be done to change that trend.
Another activity some students attended was an African-American Museum screening of 13th, a new documentary about the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and how while it may have ended slavery, it has also resulted in mass incarceration. Some Cadence students attended the film and participated in a discussion afterwards.
The following day, many Cadence students attended an event at the African-American Museum in which an actor re-created MLK speeches.
“We took notes for next year,” said Kuyk-White, “and all the students said this is awesome let’s do again, here are different ideas of service projects we can do. It’s great we can take a stand as a group both on and off the bike.”
Cadence Youth Cycling is now Bicycle Coalition Youth Cycling. Click here to learn more about the recent changes, and click here to donate.