NORTHAMPTON — Turning a desire for change into strong, lasting networks.
That is what Rev. Marisa Egerstrom, senior minister at the Florence Congregational Church, sought to do when she organized the Martin Luther King Jr. Day service fair, which drew some 100 people looking for ways to make a change on Monday.
“Let’s gather, let’s bring some energy, let’s bring some joy and let’s honor Dr. King’s legacy by making ourselves more able to serve,” Egerstrom said about the service fair. “You can’t protect your neighbor if you don’t know who they are, so you need to actually meet people.”
On a federally recognized holiday honoring one of the most renowned civil rights leaders in American history, the service fair hosted by the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity, hosted 12 different groups and organizations, seeking volunteers.
In what Egerstrom describes as a “speed-dating” style of presentations, organizations ranging from political activist groups to government agencies and food banks had two-minutes to give their pitch about why people should volunteer for their organizations.
“I’ve been to too many MLK Day events where a whole bunch of white people sing ‘We shall overcome’ … and a church I interned at in Boston did something like this, they would have a service day,” Egerstrom said. “It was really about doing the service not just talking about it.”
The service fair aimed to honor the activist work that MLK Jr. accomplished, leading nonviolent protests advocating for legal equality of Black Americans.
At the same time, Egerstrom explained that after seeing “energy wasted” during President Donald Trump’s first administration due to a lack of resources, she wanted to provide an avenue for people to “make connections before they are needed.”
“One of the things I have seen again and again, is these movement moments when everybody is suddenly energized but there isn’t the network to actually make the change,” she said. “So then, all of the effort becomes about feeling better rather than effective action.”
Egerstrom said spinning off from a prior Bombyx workshop called “What do we do now?” that was held after the 2024 presidential election, and being inspired by a similar event she participated in with a church in Boston, she started the event on last year’s holiday.
According to the National Museum of African American History & Culture, the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day was the result of a 15-year campaign advocating for a national holiday following the the assassination of Dr. King in 1968. The holiday was signed into law in 1983.
Following the presentations, tables were held for visitors to get more information.
“We found out about this event and one of our goals this year, like new year’s resolutions, is to get involved in a community-based organization,” said Northampton resident Andrew Turgeon.
Turgeon moved to Northampton just three weeks ago from Seattle. Looking for a place that’s a bit smaller, Turgeon said he moved to the area with his husband. With a background in arts and education, he said one of the organizations he connected with is Resilient Community Arts of Easthampton.
Hugh Guilderson, representing the David Ruggles Center for History and Education located right next to Bombyx, explained to the audience that the center honors the efforts of the courageous people in Northampton and Florence to abolish slavery.
Guilderson said in an interview that as a former history professor who taught at Boston College, he volunteers at the center to continue sharing the history that needs to be shared.
He said it is important to share Ruggles’ story — as an abolitionist who lived in Florence in the early 1840s, helping free more than 600 enslaved people on the Underground Railroad which had a stop in the area — on the same day that Martin Luther King Jr. is honored.
“A lot of what we see going on here in the United States today is a reaction to the progress that Black Americans made in the last 60 years,” Guilderson said.
Janet Nelson said while she has been part of the group Swing Blue Alliance since 2019, she attended the event representing her neighbors who have been affected by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Across our state, federal immigration agents, ICE, have carried out warrantless raids, assaults and detentions, including against children and citizens,” Nelson said, presenting to the audience. “Our state laws have been broken.”
Nelson said Swing Blue Alliance is running a campaign to have different volunteers contact state Attorney General Andrea Campbell and demand she enforce state law against ICE.
The David Ruggles Center, Resilient Community Arts, and Swing Blue Alliance, were three of 12 groups to present at the fair.
Others included the Connecticut River Conservancy; the Department of Children and Families, and its Foster Care Review Unit; Eagle Eye Institute; Food Bank of Western Massachusetts; Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western Mass.; Jewish Voice for Peace Western Mass.; Massachusetts Fair Housing Center; Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity and Young Scholar’s Fund Inc.
Egerstrom said she hopes to continue the event in the future, hoping to continue building bridges for local residents.
“We got to get beyond feelings and opinions, it’s not enough to be correct, ideas doesn’t get it done,” Egerstrom said.