While Monday, Jan. 20 was a day off for many University of Nevada, Reno students, for about 50 of them, it was “a day on.” Students spent the day teaching children ages 5 to 17 about the significant impact Martin Luther King Jr. made on society. Through stories, activities and reflection, University students aimed to teach lessons in inclusion and equity.  

The event started with volunteers showing the kids an educational animated movie called, “Our Friend Martin.” After the movie, the kids were given books about MLK and made posters for a silent protest they participated in later that day.  

To finish off the day, Washoe County’s Human Resources set up a workshop about the vision of equity and inclusion for this upcoming year and what that would mean for the kids. 

Ripneet Brar, assistant director of diversity and inclusion for the ASUN, was one of the many volunteers that day. Brar said her favorite part about the experience was, “working with them and being able to give them advice, in order to help open doors for them early.” 

The MLK Day of Service is an annual event held by the Boys and Girls Club of the Truckee Meadows to educate children about the history of civil rights and equality. 

“It’s actually surprising how many of these kids didn’t know much about MLK Day or MLK at all,” Brar said. “Starting early with giving them that knowledge was important to me.”

She said that there was a noticeable change in how the children viewed this holiday as a whole by the end of the day.