Days before Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and Barack Obama’s Inauguration, wowOwow turns to Alma Powell. Raised in the racially torn town of Birmingham, AL, Mrs. Powell had reservations about her husband Gen. Colin Powell’s political move to run for president in 1996. Thirteen years later, as the nation welcomes its first black president, Mrs. Powell says the moment reminds us that the U.S. is full of "new possibilities." Today, at 71, Mrs. Powell dedicates her days to improving the lives of America’s youth as the chairwoman of America’s Promise Alliance, a children’s aid organization she founded in 1997 with her husband. As Mrs. Powell strives for a better future for America’s children, she always keeps the past in mind …

WOWOWOW: What does Martin Luther King Day mean to you, as an African American?

ALMA POWELL: Martin Luther King is a seminal person in the history of African Americans. He initiated the second reconstruction in the United States. All of us are beneficiaries of his call to the nation to come together and recognize African Americans as people of character and to stop thinking of us as second-class citizens. It was him who helped the nation recognize that we are a people with something to give to our country. 

It is really significant this year that Martin Luther King’s birthday falls the day before the Inauguration of our first African American president. I was raised in Birmingham, AL, and was in Birmingham when Martin Luther King was conducting his crusades there. I had the experience of living in the midst of the turmoil that brought about a different time for African Americans. Dr. King certainly had that vision that he expressed in his "I Have a Dream" speech. We have lived up to that speech and taken our place in this country — with many African Americans giving themselves in public service to this country. So all of that resonates with me and with everything that I do. 

WOW: One of the points you make in your book, America’s Promise, is the important mission to give back to the community. Do you fear, with talks of a long recession, that people will be reluctant to give back to the community?

AP: I believe the recession will actually increase the willingness of people to give back to the community. I think people recognize that the challenges today are so formidable that it will take all of us to overcome them. Americans have always been ready to roll up their sleeves and pitch in during times of need. It doesn’t have to involve giving money. A new ethic of service is growing among Americans of all ages who are volunteering their time and energy. Giving back fulfills a basic human need — did you know that students say they’re more likely to stay in school if they have opportunities to serve? Service is also a vast national resource whose true power we are rediscovering. The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service (www.mlkday.gov) on January 19 is a great way to get involved along with millions of others.

WOW: So I’m sure you’ll be involved in community service. What are you doing on Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

AP: America’s Promise is holding a food drive on Capitol Hill. We’re collecting food and transporting it to food banks, which will then distribute them to schools on MLK Day and Inauguration Day. That way, children who may be on a school meal program and are off for the holiday can stop by their school’s cafeteria to eat.

Click here to read Joan Ganz Coooney’s response to our interview with Mrs. Powell and her thoughts on education reform.