The Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission and Habitat for Humanity joined forces Monday for a day of renovation at the former home of Daisy Bates in Little Rock to mark the beginning of a week of events leading up to the national King holiday on January 15.
While volunteers Humanity fixed up the outside of the house, inside, museum board member Mary Hardin gave tours of the civil rights landmark.
“This bedroom, this is where Dr. Martin Luther King came, spent the night here in this room. Thurgood Marshall, and have you ever heard of Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis? Actors, husband and wife actors, but they were also activists,” Hardin shared during the tour.
Daisy Bates mentored the nine African-American students who desegregated Central High School in 1957.
A youth oratorical contest and a concert at the Mosaic Templar’s Cultural Center are among the events scheduled for the week leading up to Mega Kingfest on Monday, January 15, at the North Little Rock High School Performing Arts Center.
The commission, now in its 25th year, is also hosting community service events across the state throughout the week.