Students and staff gathered in the Roberts-Dubbs Auditorium to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Thursday, Jan. 18. The assembly was also live-streamed during T-block to advisories of all grades.
Senior and Black Student Union (BSU) member William Finklea served as the assembly’s emcee and began by quoting King’s 1962 speech at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor.
“We must learn to live together as brothers or we will die as fools,” Finklea said.
BSU president and senior Darin Grant spoke first and discussed the purpose of the assembly. He said it was not simply a reflection of the King’s impact but also a call to action.
“We must draw inspiration from Dr. King’s legacy to continue our pursuit of a more just and equitable society,” Grant said. “Let’s challenge discrimination and prejudice and create communities where all people can thrive.”
Following Grant was Dean of Students Astrid Allen, who read Richard Blanco’s poem “Como Tú,” which translates to “Like You” in English. Blanco was the first Latino and openly gay poet to have been named the U.S. Inaugural Poet.
“Como tú, I woke up to/this dream of a country I didn’t choose, that/didn’t choose me—trapped in the nightmare/of its hateful glares,” Allen read. “Como tú, I’m also from/the lakes and farms, waterfalls and prairies/of another country I can’t fully claim either.”
BSU vice president and junior Nathan Lopes De Carvalho began his speech by reciting lines from Dr. King’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” book, then turned to the subject of the high school itself. Lopes De Carvalho said the recent incident of a white student saying the N-word while gaming is indicative of a culture of bigotry that has festered.
“We have become desensitized to blatant racism,” Lopes De Carvalho said.
Senior Kesiah Nwosu presented the poem “For My Little Black Girl” by Danielle Milton, which won the 2014 Colorism Healing Poetry Contest for “girls all over the world who have trouble loving the body they’re in.”
“Don’t lose yourself, little black girl./As you walk through the halls of your high school,/As you look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Am I beautiful?”/Even as you take your standardized tests for college admission,/Be phenomenal./Because you are anything but standard,” Nwosu said. “Your soft, mocha skin dares to be kissed by the sun/As the sparrows serenade your praises because/You are beautiful and you are life and you are black.”
Following Nwosu was Dean of Students Summer Williams, who described how King’s legacy reminded her of grandmother, whom she called “Betsy.” Williams said that in times of strife and hopelessness, Betsy’s words have offered her guidance.
“We are stuck; we see ugly words on our social media, in our hallways. It’s easy to give in to the feeling of being stuck, and it ain’t cute, as my Betsy would tell me,” Williams said. “She reminded me that I could feel stuck for a minute, and then I would have to keep moving.”
Williams said ultimately, the journey toward making the high school a safe and equitable place for all students is difficult but necessary.
“This place is for you to learn how to grow, to learn how to bounce back, to learn how to have hard conversations. And the only way we’re going to get there is if we keep moving, and I guarantee you it won’t be easy getting there, but it will be worth it,” Williams said.
Head of School Anthony Meyer concluded the assembly, quoting King as he emphasized that in a time of injustice and bigotry, forgiveness is crucial.
“‘He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love,’” Meyer said. “‘There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.’”
