If Martin Luther King Jr. were still alive, what would his dream be today?
Children, teens and adults taking part in a celebration of the day honoring the slain civil rights leader at Duquesne-West Mifflin Boys and Girls Club on Monday all were asked that question in one form or another.
In an exercise called "I Have a Dream, Too," students recorded their ideas about how humanity could work together to make the world a better place.
"I have a dream that one day we'll all stop fighting and get along," said S'myiah Adams, 5, of Duquesne.
"I have a dream that people won't be talked about because of their skin color," wrote Alexis Berry, 11, also of Duquesne.
Carrick High School student Jenna Aleski, 14, wrote that her dream is a world where "everyone will be equal. Everyone will feel loved. Everyone will have a home."
There were hundreds of other inspiring answers offered at the event, which in addition to being attended by club members, drew students and adults from all over the Pittsburgh region through the volunteer organization Pittsburgh Cares.
This is the first year the club held an MLK Day activity. Patricia A. Bluett, who is executive director of the local Boys and Girls Club branch, said she is pleased the club could host such an event.
"It's a chance for kids in our community to get together with kids from outside the community and learn there's a world outside of Duquesne," she said. "It's time for us all to start working together."
Pittsburgh Cares Project Manager Holly McGraw said the youth club in Duquesne was a natural choice for her when she was looking for a place to hold the youth-oriented activity. Having worked with Bluett and the club on other occasions, she said of the director, "She's always welcoming and willing to open her doors to new faces."
Will Barmen, 10, who is a student at St. Edmunds Academy in Squirrel Hill and was at the club with the philanthropic Pittsburgh Social Venture Partners group, said he was inspired by the message of community service being promoted by the day's activities.
He said he'd remember it later this year when his school holds its annual clean-up event.
"I've learned we can work together to be a better community," he said.
Candi Castleberry-Singleton, of UPMC's Center for Inclusion in Health Care, was at the event encouraging participants to use club computers to pledge their support for treating colleagues and members of the community with dignity and respect in honor of King.
Justin Portis of Pittsburgh Cares was overseeing an event for older students to create a public service announcement honoring King's legacy that will be shown in area high schools and on his organization's Web site at www.pittsburghcares.org.
Portis said the program at the youth club was beneficial because it instills service values in children at an age when many still are too young to get involved in hands-on volunteer activities in the community.
