This week Solu celebrated Martin Luther King Jr Day in a historic manner, deepening the relationship between the the African-American and Orthodox Jewish community in Chicago.

For the past few weeks, student leaders at Hillel Torah and Akiba Schechter Day School have conducted a book drive to support the Family Literacy Center that you built in partnership with Bright Star Community Outreach. On Monday, Hillel Torah students had the chance to meet, learn from, and dialogue with Pastor Harris, and were able to present Pastor Harris with the books they collected from the community.

We spoke about the legacy of racism and poverty in Chicago, and how when we are connected, concerned and compassionate towards one another, we can do meaningful work and create lasting change in the world. As Pastor Harris wrote, he was invited to speak at many MLK events, but chose to be with us today to honor our relationship and extend it to the broader Orthodox community.

Dr. King taught that "everybody can be great, because everybody can serve." The mission of Solu is to make that possible by creating opportunities for our community to serve, not just on MLK Day but through ongoing efforts throughout the year.

Thank you to all those who helped make Monday possible, especially R. Natan Brownstein of Hillel Torah and Jill Kohl of Akiba Schechter Jewish Day School, and, as always, Pastor Harris and our partners at Bright Star!

And there is still time to participate in the book drive -- new or used books can be brought to Hillel Torah or ordered off this wishlist!