Giving Back on MLK Day 🕊
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Description
🕊 When did Martin Luther King Day come to be recognized as a national day of service? 🎮 Did you know there's a Minecraft March on Washington in honor of MLK Day this year!? 🏀 How has former NBA player Shelden Williams dedicated his life to giving back to his community since retiring from basketball? 🧙🏻♂️ Any Harry Potter fans out there? See if you can guess the answer to the Trivia Question of the Day.
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🕊 Learn 6 ways to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with kids this year
🎮 Did you know there's a Minecraft March on Washington in honor of MLK Day this year!?
🧙🏻♂️ Find out what almost stopped J.K. Rowling from writing the Harry Potter book series
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💌 We love email! Email us at hello@thetennews.com
Transcript
Miles Crooks: [00:00:00] Hey Ten'ners. I'm Miles Crooks. I'm 11 years old and I'm standing in for Bethany Van Delft on today's The Ten News. This episode is about service to our communities and to ourselves. So I'm here to help! Okay, let's get into The Ten News.
Various Voices: [00:00:17] Ten, nine, eight seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
Miles Crooks: [00:00:25] January 18th is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national day of service. Correspondent Anya Schultz has more.
Anya Schultz: [00:00:33] Next Monday is a holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the pastor from Georgia who became an important leader of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. MLK Day is a special holiday because it's a day to give back.
[00:00:51] MLK day is the only Federal holiday that's officially a day of service. That means it's a day when people are encouraged to [00:01:00] volunteer in their community. That could mean delivering meals to the elderly, donating clothes, or cleaning up a neighborhood park. It's a fitting way to celebrate Dr. King's legacy.
[00:01:11] He dedicated his life to serving others and working for justice and equality for all. Dr. King advocated for change through non-violent means, that means instead of fighting with violence, he fought with his voice and his words, and with the power of people working together for a common.
Martin Luther King, Jr. audio clip: [00:01:30] "We will come to that great and glad day, when men all over the world will be able to join hands. Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants, and Catholics, Hindus, and Muslims. And singing the words of the old Negro spiritual ,free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last."
Anya Schultz: [00:01:57] He became the youngest person ever to [00:02:00] win the Nobel peace prize when he was 35 years old and he was tragically assassinated in 1968 before his fight for equality was complete. His supporters worked for about 20 years to finally get the federal government to create the holiday. And in 1986, the country celebrated the first official Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
[00:02:24] Then in 1994, the late Representative John Lewis, also a leader in the civil rights movement, passed legislation to honor Dr. King's legacy by making MLK Day officially a day of service. According to the King Center, the theme for this year's MLK Day is "The Urgency of Creating The Beloved Community." The term Dr. King used to mean a world that is free of poverty, hunger, homelessness, racism, and discrimination. Learning about Dr. King's work can inspire us and give us tools to [00:03:00] continue fighting for the world he dreamed of.
Miles Crooks: [00:03:05] Did you know if there's a Minecraft March on Washington in honor of MLK Day this year? Visit thetennews.com for more resources. Next up is correspondent Ryan Nerz, who spoke to a former NBA player about the importance of giving back.
Ryan Nerz: [00:03:23] The MLK Day of Service is not one of those chill out around the house kind of holidays.
[00:03:28] As a celebration of Martin Luther King's life, it should inspire all Americans to get out and try to help others, even kids. If you need a role model for how to do that? Well, just talk to this guy.
Shelden Williams: [00:03:40] We was able to do mobile meals with my church. We did Ronald McDonald house growing up, uh, with my church as well. Um, just different things, helping out feeding the homeless.
Ryan Nerz: [00:03:50] That's Sheldon Williams. He wasn't your typical kid. He's a former star basketball player -- Duke University's all-time rebounding and blocked shots leader. [00:04:00] Then he played in the NBA for seven different teams. Now that Williams has retired from pro ball, he could easily just lounge by the pool. But instead he's organizing events that bring together the things that he values most.
Shelden Williams: [00:04:14] I want to make sure that I'm giving back to the youth, as well as tying in education with, you know, sports.
Ryan Nerz: [00:04:22] Growing up outside Oklahoma City, the sports part came early to Sheldon. His dad, Bob Williams decided to challenge him at a young age.
Shelden Williams: [00:04:31] Once I got kind of serious about basketball, my dad did not let me play my age group. I always play two years older.
Ryan Nerz: [00:04:38] Bob helped with the education part too. Good grades were mandatory. And when they went on road trips to basketball tournaments, Bob turned them into educational outings.
Shelden Williams: [00:04:48] We was able to stop along the way at all kinds of different national historical parks and historical area you know, areas where he always may sure he turned things into a [00:05:00] lesson for us. For example, at the Grand Canyon, I went to Grand Canyon at, uh, you know, 10 years old. I'm like, It's a big hole. I mean, like, I didn't even appreciate it, you know, I wish I can go back now as an adult and try to appreciate it.
[00:05:12] But you know, at the time you drove 18 hours and to see this, like, you know, like this is what we are, you know, are we looking at it? So we know it was great.
Ryan Nerz: [00:05:19] So it seemed natural that Williams would play college ball at Duke University, a program known for blending sports and academics. It was a whole new world.
[00:05:28] See, back in Oklahoma, football was king, but Duke is renowned for its diehard basketball fans known as the Cameron Crazies.
Shelden Williams: [00:05:38] Those fans, those Cameron Crazies, the energy they put into that, you had no choice, but to feel amped up for games no matter who you're playing. And that was one of the best feelings that play every single game in front of fans like that. And it's, it's kind of. I feel kind of sad for the guys now because you know, the whole COVID situation. So [00:06:00] you can try to mimic the crowd noise and everything, but oh my God. I have never seen even like that, like you just get juiced up.
Ryan Nerz: [00:06:07] But William stayed grounded when he was selected in the first round of the 2006 NBA draft, he could barely even process his good fortune.
Shelden Williams: [00:06:16] I remember thinking that this is a far-fetched dream and now I'm actually living it.
Ryan Nerz: [00:06:20] In 2010, Sheldon went to the NBA finals with the Boston Celtics. They lost, but the team's winning mentality reminded him of his college days.
Shelden Williams: [00:06:30] From the head guy to the bottom guy, everybody's like, hey, we coming in to win a championship.
Ryan Nerz: [00:06:35] Sheldon from his Celtic teammates off the court as well, 15 time NBA all-star Kevin Garnett showed him that giving back wasn't about getting publicity.
Shelden Williams: [00:06:46] I did one of his events and he made sure there was no media allowed. No photography is allowed.
Ryan Nerz: [00:06:51] Sheldon remembered Garnett's example when he decided to start the Shelden Williams Foundation in 2019. For his first event, he went [00:07:00] back to Oklahoma.
Shelden Williams: [00:07:01] I went back to that church, to my hometown church to actually help the kids and my city.
Ryan Nerz: [00:07:08] With the help of childhood friend and Major League Baseball star, Matt Kemp, Williams launched The Life Center at the church. It includes classrooms, a kitchen, and of course a basketball court.
Shelden Williams: [00:07:20] Yeah, I did a toy drive, uh, helping out, uh, about a hundred families in South Fulton area, uh, with the police department and the fire department. Just give out some presents and make sure that these kids have no some presents, uh, for Christmas and everything.
Ryan Nerz: [00:07:33] Williams can relate because he has his own kid now. And just as he learned from his mother, he's trying to be a good example for his 11 year old daughter.
Shelden Williams: [00:07:42] Recently we saw, um, a mother and daughter, and the daughter was probably about the same age as her. And, you know, we want to give them them food and she like the, what else can we do? My daughter is very caring, very nurturing type person, but that was the first time it kind of clicked with [00:08:00] me like she really does care. And I'm not sure if it's because she saw somebody the same age as her. And it kind of, you know, made her think about it a little bit more, but she was like, made sure like, hey, what can we do to help these kids? Uh, and these people are out that are asking, asking for food or wanting to help him like that.
[00:08:22] She's done some stuff where me back home in Oklahoma City. Um, so she's able to do that. Uh, she, she knows, uh, no where I'm doing, uh, she's on Tik ToK. So she follows, uh, things I put on Tik TOK and everything.
Ryan Nerz: [00:08:35] And just as Williams brings comfort and joy to his daughter, he tries to do the same when he's out doing service.
Shelden Williams: [00:08:41] Honestly, it's very thrilling to see smiles on people's faces and knowing that I'm being genuine with what I'm trying to do.
Ryan Nerz: [00:08:50] His next chance to put smiles on people's faces will be at the Playbook Agency, Youth Empowerment virtual event on January 23rd. It will [00:09:00] feature discussions with kids about topics like leadership development and coping with the pandemic.
[00:09:05] Sheldon knows that the stakes are high. That for some kids events like these might just be the tipping point that changes their lives forever.
Shelden Williams: [00:09:15] Cause a lot of times these kids need, need an olive branch, the, you know, stay on the right path. And a lot of times they don't get that. I mean, all of us, honestly, where one wrong decision away from not being on the path you are now.
Miles Crooks: [00:09:37] It's time for your trivia question of the day
[00:09:43] Before Harry Potter became a worldwide phenomenon, what big challenge did author J. K. Rowling face? A) Rowling kept getting writer's block B) publishers kept rejecting the idea or C) wizards kept [00:10:00] protesting the portrayal of their lifestyle. Did you guess it? The answer is B! J.K. Rowling's original idea for Harry Potter was rejected 12 times before she actually got it published.
[00:10:17] Isn't that crazy? Guess the moral of that story is never stop believing in your own magic.
[00:10:30] Time is up! That's the end of The Ten for today. I'll let Bethany take you from here.
Bethany Van Delft: [00:10:36] You can catch new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Ten News is a co-production of Small but Mighty Media and collaboration with Next Chapter Podcasts and distributed by iHeartRadio. The Ten News writing team is led by editorial director Tracey Crooks with contributions from Stephen Tompkins, Anya Schultz, and Ryan Nerz.
[00:10:52] The creative producer is Jenner Pascua. Marketing is led by Jacob Bronstein with social media and web [00:11:00] support by Steven Tompkins and Adam Pharr. Editing and sound design by Pete Musto. Under the production direction of Jeremiah Tittle. Executive producer Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan round out the team. If you have questions about the show, a story idea, or a fun fact you want to share email us at hello@thetennews.com. And don't forget, to subscribe, rate and review The Ten News on Apple podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm Bethany Van Delft.
[00:11:29] And thanks for listening to The Ten News. Now go think of how you will give back on this year's day of service!
