MLK Day of Service

  • by Kevin R. Johnson

I had the honor of celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a Day of Service and Celebration organized by students at UC Davis School of Law.  Each year, in honor of Dr. King, the law school holds a Day of Service and Celebration on the MLK Monday holiday. This year’s events were a bit different because of the social distancing requirements of the pandemic.  The Black Law Students Association (BLSA), Law Students Association (LSA) and the MLK Day Working Group (chaired by Senior Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Emily Scivoletto) organized this year’s amazing day of service for students, faculty and alums.   

Participants in MLK Day 2021 had four options to provide community service.

  • Blood Drive at King Hall Parking Lot.  Two blood drive trucks were in front of the law school and had a busy day.

 

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  • Government Benefits Webinar and Clinic via Zoom:  Trained volunteers provided informational webinars on CalFresh and housing evictions, and helped community members determine eligibility for benefits.    Julie Rogado  of Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC) introduced the program on how to apply for CalFresh (food stamps) program.  LSNC Attorney   Steve Goldberg  offered specifics about eligibility and application requirements for CalFresh.

 

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  • Essentials Donation  Drop-off:  UC Davis Law accepted donations to be dropped off at King Hall. 
  • Day of Service in Your Community:  For people unable to attend the service options above, they were invited to donate time on Jan. 18 to a cause near to them!  Please let us know how you were serving the community by clicking  here. 

 There also was a celebration of the legacy of Dr. King at noon on Zoom.  Speakers included BLSA President   Alexis Logan  and  keynote speaker Pragna Patel, director of Southall Black Sisters in London, England ( https://justice.org.uk/pragna-patel/). 

I also offered an introduction and highlighted some of our distinguished alums of color. After thanking the   Black Law Students Association, the Law Students Association, and the MLK Day Working Group for organizing this event, I talked about three incredible alums dedicated to justice:  Presiding Judge of the Sacramento Superior Juvenile Court   Stacy Boulware Eurie '95, Chief Justice of California   Tani Cantil-Sakauye ’84 , the first Asian American to lead the state’s judiciary, and   Professor   Amagda Pérez ’91, co-director of the UC Davis School of Law Immigration Law Clinic and executive director of the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.

 

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 Pragna Patel offered an inspiring talk on anti-racist, feminist and class-conscious activism in the United Kingdom.  It was incredible to have her remarks on a day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.