COLUMBUS, Ohio — Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a significant day in history, with a significant message.
“I think that’s all Dr. King did, was put others first,” Carl Moorer Jr., said.
On the holiday, we spoke with two students, Carl Moorer Jr. and Xavier Fox.
“This past Friday, one of my English teachers did play a little clip,” Moorer Jr., said.
A clip of the famous “I Have A Dream Speech.”
“I feel a sense of peacefulness that’s still preached and still need to be followed, but listening to him, a lot of things have changed, but a lot of things are still the same,” Fox said.
Moorer Jr., is a member of the Alpha Esquire Mentoring Program, Franklin County Youth Council and a My Brother’s Keeper Student Ambassador. He is a junior at Linden McKinley STEM Academy.
Fox is a student alumni of My Brother’s Keeper and is currently a student at Columbus State Community College.
They’re both inspired and ready to accomplish their dreams.
Moorer Jr. wants to go to college to study criminal justice. He says he's always wanted to be involved in law enforcement.
“You know, a lot is going on in the world and community, so we need some change,” Moorer Jr. said.
As for Fox, he’s studying Business Management. In five years, he sees himself with a Bachelor's degree and being a successful realtor.
As mentioned, both are involved with My Brother’s Keeper. Fox is an alumni and Moorer Jr. is currently active.
My Brother’s Keeper is a program with initiatives that help boys and young men of color to move forward in a positive direction in their future.
“I’m very optimistic because everything that MBK strives for is everything right now, giving our youth a platform to speak, a platform to lead,” Chris Suel said.
Chris Suel is the program manager for MBK.
“Over this past year, MBK has really worked with community partners and MBK grantees,” Suel said.
MBK recently partnered with Homage to seed the newly launched, We Rise Scholarship.
They are selling shirts that say “We Rise Together.”
“Our goal is to provide for as many boys and men of color as we can,” Suel said.
With everything going on right with the pandemic and with increased violence in the city of Columbus, the students emphasized how crucial programs are like this.
“I know personally, a lot of people around me are just scared,” Fox said.
We asked Fox what he thought about everything going on in the world right now.
“I mean certain parts, I’m scared too,” Fox said.
When it comes to programs, organizations, city leaders and organizations working together, the students said it’s important.
“It’s very fundamental because the community is all we got,” Moorer Jr., said.
The two students expressed how much programs and initiatives like My Brother’s Keeper, help.
“It definitely made me be able to network and get the right exposure that I need to be a better person and in my career path,” Moorer Jr., said.
For Fox, through MBK, he was able to work with the Columbus Urban League.
“We were able to work through four-hour sessions, five days a week, learning about financial literacy and personal skills,” Fox said.
In addition to that, he was an MBK Uplift student volunteer where he helped coordinate and pack over 1,000 boxes of PPE and cleaning supplies.
The program manager is encouraging the community to help with the scholarship that will continue these efforts.
“Purchase the T-Shits, that are for an amazing cause,” Suel said.
The t-shirts can be found here.