Special Girl Scout awards honor King

PORTSMOUTH

Five Girl Scouts encircled a lectern Monday morning, ready to read their part of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

Ann Norfleet, a scouting official, had enlisted them moments before, and now they rehearsed their sections with a silent mouthing of King's powerful words of August 1963. They did not look nervous as they looked out at more than 300 people gathered in the sanctuary at Brighton Rock A.M.E. Zion Church.

Tamera Spruill-Holmes, a 10-year-old Junior Girl Scout from Virginia Beach, was the second to read. "We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation," she said.

"... Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children."

Christina Bell, a 12-year-old Cadette Girl Scout from Chesapeake, came next. She asserted in a gentle voice that the new black militancy of the 1960s "must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny...."

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at the church, an annual event sponsored by Volunteer Hampton Roads that drew the largest crowd since the first program in 2000.

Blended into the crowd were more than 30 local Girl Scouts who came to work on a special award.

Most were involved in projects to help them earn an "I Have a Dream" patch or badge or try-it or interest project - different names for badgelike awards or pins for varying levels of scouts.

All had the same aim: to learn about the civil rights leader and his legacy, and to practice his philosophy of service.

This region's Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast started in 1992 a "I Have a Dream" patch, which is worn on the back of a scout's sash. Other "I Have a Dream" awards soon were added.

Not every Girl Scout council offers such awards, which honor King.

"We were really trying to let the people know just what his dream was all about," said Norfleet, outreach director for the council, who has steadily built minority participation in local Girl Scouts since she started in 1977.

She sees the true dream as "uniting us all together."

"To me, the concept is how we teach one another to be all that we can be and help one another when we need help," she said.

Through the morning, all adult and youth volunteers, including the scouts, moved from one activity to another. They painted flower pots destined for nursing homes. They painted murals with inspirational images that told stories of community service.

They drew on book plates to go inside books for homeless shelters where youngsters live. And they designed thank-you cards to be sent to an Army unit stationed in Iraq.

Christina sat at a long table painting a paper tray for a flower pot. So far, she had a magenta outer circle and a blue inner circle. The Crestwood Middle School seven th-grader was working toward her Cadette interest project on King. She expected to finish all requirements by early February.

Her khaki vest contained patches proving she has experience in ice skating, sewing and camping. Among those, the "I Have a Dream" project seems "more serious, because you're learning about history," she said.

Christina said she had already done some research, discovering such civil rights figures as Rosa Parks. "She's someone who was against racial discrimination, like Martin Luther King," Christina said, continuing to paint her plate. "She refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus. That led to a boycott, of course," she said.

She knew about King before Monday. "I believe that what he did in 1963 helped make our race become what we are now," said Christina, who makes mostly A's and hopes that scouting will help her win a scholarship to college, so she can study Greek mythology.

At the other end of the room, 7-year-old Rose Ropetski painted a mural alongside girls from her Norfolk troop. She was working toward a "I Have a Dream" try-it, which is a Brownie award.

The Ghent Elementary School second-grader, who is white, said she was "making rainbows for the troops. I want them to feel peace and happiness."

She said she already knew about King before Monday's program. "He was trying to help brown people and white people join together and make friends," which she said is a good thing.

"Because then you get to meet new people and make new friends and that makes everybody feel happy."

Teresa Annas, (757) 446-2485, teresa.annas@pilotonline.com