MLK's Birthday No Day Off For One School
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The head of one Chicago school keeps his doors open on Martin Luther King Day. But Paul Adams doesn't do it to protest the holiday. He does it to honor the legendary civil rights leader.
Adams has a unique perspective. He was also part of that fight to get those basic rights, CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports.
Walking through the halls of Chicago's Providence St. Mel School, Adams, its founder, shares some of his distinct philosophy.
"It's hard to know where you are going if you don't know where you came from," he says.
That is one reason he keeps the private, pre-K-through-12th-grade school open on Martin Luther King Day: to stress history and the value of education. He believes Dr. King was an educator first.
Adams met Dr. King as a 14-year-old growing up in Montgomery, Ala., and it changed his life.
"He was a part of the community. But so many of us believed in him and would follow him in any direction that he chose," Adams says.
That respect compelled Adams to march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. He says he was terrified. People along the route had shotguns in their lap, just daring someone to step on their property. But he says it was something he had to do.
Now, Adams continues to inspire students to follow their dreams, in the name of Dr. King.
Adams sees the school and the success of its students as his legacy. He founded it in 1978, in part to carry on King's emphasis on education and living a life with purpose.
