Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us that “everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” This past MLK Weekend, that truth came alive along the Michelle Obama Trail in Gresham Park, where residents, volunteers, youth, and County partners transformed service into tangible impact.
What began as a morning of planned litter pickup and invasive plant removal quickly became a powerful reminder of both the challenges our communities face and the extraordinary capacity, we have to address them together.
35 Volunteers arrived ready to work, representing a cross-section of DeKalb County’s civic fabric:
• Girl Scouts
• Gresham Park residents
• Members of the Neighbors of Gresham Park Executive Board
• The DeKalb Lawyers Group
• A local church group
• Two DeKalb County Parks & Rec employees
• Broader community members who learned of the opportunity through word of mouth
Organized by Southwest DeKalb Naturalist Tasha alongside a dedicated Gresham Park resident, Camryn, the effort reflected the very essence of Dr. King’s vision people stepping forward not because they were asked, but because they cared.
The Reality Beneath the Surface
As volunteers moved deeper along the trail overlooking South River, the scope of the problem became clear. What appeared at first to be scattered litter revealed itself as intentional dumping, hidden in embankments, hillsides, and even the creek itself.
What we found large piles of consumer goods, school-served food items, plastic bottles and packaging, and waste that had been accumulating for years, not weeks.
This was not random. The volume, placement, and condition of the debris told a different story: one that raised serious questions about accountability, access, and enforcement.
Collective Action in Motion
Rather than turning away, volunteers leaned in. Five individuals carefully navigated down steep embankments and into the creek, using rakes, shovels, gloved hands, and determination to begin restoration work. We cleaned 4 distinct areas, in just over one hour, resulting in 12 large bags of trash.
This was service in action: uncomfortable, hands-on, and deeply meaningful.
What We Found Tells a Bigger Story
Among the most striking discoveries:
• A pillow that had begun growing roots
• A partially decomposed tire, estimated to have been there 7+ years
• Full cans of soup, empty gallon chili cans, and bulletin board paper
• Uneaten fruit
These findings underscored a difficult truth: environmental neglect and social neglect often intersect. Later that day, volunteers discovered an overturned couch nearby and learned that someone had been living beneath it.
With compassion and care, volunteers connected the individual with resources, contact information, and DeKalb WorkSource, reinforcing that service must extend beyond cleanup to human dignity and opportunity.
Carrying Dr. King’s Dream Forward
Dr. King’s dream was rooted in action, community responsibility, and shared humanity.
Gresham Park was one powerful story, of many, that came out of this year’s MLK Day service weekend. Each bag of trash removed, each conversation held, and each resource shared pushed Dr. King’s vision forward moved beyond words and showed up in our work.
Moving From Service to Sustained Change
The progress made at Gresham Park proves what is possible when residents and government work side by side. It also reinforces the need for:
• Stronger dumping prevention and enforcement (See DeKalb CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson’s $250k tire clean up initiative here)
• Continued environmental stewardship and advocacy
• Investment in upstream solutions that address both environmental and social challenges
Service is not a one-day act. It is a commitment.
And this weekend, DeKalb County showed what commitment looks like. Together, we honored Dr. King not only by remembering his dream but by living it.
