Middle School: Assembly Honors MLK

Middle schoolers assembled this week to honor the man behind the coming holiday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Head of Middle School, Marti Champion, opened the program: “This holiday is an opportunity to recognize Dr. King and many others who fought for equality and who enabled me to stand in front of you today.” 

 

Dr. King was an activist who worked tirelessly from 1954 to his death in 1968 to advance civil rights in nonviolent ways. He is known for promoting the concept of peaceful resistance such as boycotts, marches and sit-ins. 

 

Ms. Camille James, math teacher, gave a stirring a capella performance of “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” by Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey. Dr. King’s favorite song, it was often performed at rallies and was also sung at his funeral. 

"Precious Lord, take my hand

Lead me on, let me stand

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn

Through the storm, through the night

Lead me on through the light

Take my hand, precious Lord

And lead me home"

 

Students were invited to reflect on Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. “What is your dream?” asked Ms. Champion. “How can you live it now and the rest of the year at Graland?”

 

Next, “One Today,” a poem by Richard Blanco written for and read at the 2013 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, was brilliantly recited by Dan O’Neill, drama teacher. The poem has been lauded for celebrating the strength of the American people and the nation’s great diversity.

 

Eighth grader Addie Brown followed Mr. O’Neill with her thoughtful poem* titled, “Beaten and Bruised, But We Still Make It Through: A Second-Person Poem in the Shoes of Civil Rights Activists.” She wrote it after the class trip to the American South where she studied the Civil Rights movement.

 

The eighth grade choir performed two songs directed by music teacher Tara Neeley and accompanied by Anna Phelan on the piano. Their selection of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson was inspired by an exhibit at the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. Between verses, students shared short notes of how they can make a change in the world: “I will stand up for others.” “I will spread awareness.” “I will treat people equally.” Many of them expressed awareness that the work of equality is not yet complete. Their second selection, “Glory” by John Stephens, Lonnie Lynn and Che Smith, featured several soloists backed by the choir, who wore personalized T-shirts with words that described each person's experience on the Civil Rights trip.

 

Students closed the assembly by inviting their peers to a march/parade (“marade”) on January 21, the MLK holiday. This family-friendly event celebrates the life of Dr. King and his dedication to ending racial injustice in the United States. RSVP here

 

*Beaten and Bruised, But We Still Make It Through:
A Second-Person Poem in the Shoes of Civil Rights Activists by Addie Brown (8)

 

From torment to torment

It feels like deja vu,

Going from one form of oppression to the next

Where does it end?

When will you see the light come through?

 

Trying to stick together

Yet a family torn apart,

As unjust treatment pushes you further back

When you have just past the start.

 

You ask for change,

Yet you are met with the same answers:

“Well, I…”

“I’m sorry, but…”

“But you understand why…”

The all too familiar voices of so-called affirmation

That show no want in helping you end segregation.

 

Denied the right to vote

Yet you are granted it in the Constitution.

Where is the fair treatment?

All you want is absolution.

 

You have been pushed around for too long.

Violence, brutality, something had to be done.

 

Even through set backs

You refuse to be stopped.

You will continue to fight for your rights

Through all and every road block.

 

History is in the making

And, oh, look at the view!

Look at all of the passionate, strong people

Behind you.

 

From torment to torment,

You still make it through.

Becoming stronger and stronger,

And letting the light come through.

 

Trying to stick together,

Yet a family built on strength.

Road blocks have become pebbles

To just kick out of the way.

 

Civil rights is here,

Civil rights is now,

Change is in the air,

Your part is just making a sound.