Academy Hosts 2016 MLK Day
The Academy’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK Day) was held on Friday, Jan. 15. Each year, classes are canceled to devote time towards student and faculty workshops centered around the topic of race. The day off aims to promote peace and understanding within the Exeter community.
To start out the morning, the community met as a whole to listen to a presentation by keynote speaker Gyasi Ross. Ross is a political activist, attorney, author, musician, essayist and member of the Blackfeet Nation. In his presentation, titled,“Liberation from What? The Reason We Need Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Frank Jr. and Other Liberators,” he stressed the necessity of discussions about racial equity in the United States.
Following Ross’ morning presentation, students attended one workshop, which they had previously chosen online in addition to a required, forum-style panel moderated by PBS journalist Sandra Guzman. This year’s workshop selection included the chance to view and discuss a mass incarceration documentary created by upper Serena Cho, write poetry with award-winning slam poet George Masao Yamazawa Jr. and create posters with artist and activist Michael Thompson.
“I think it’s important to have these workshops because there are a lot of issues that go unnoticed and ignored that just cannot be ignored.”
Students also watched the dramatic performance of Playland, performed by the Academy’s religion instructor Russell Weatherspoon and chair of the theater department Robert Richards. All of the workshops highlighted ways in which society falls short of racial equality; the subtitle of 2016’s MLK day was: The Crossroads of Liberty, Oppression and Solidarity.
“I hope students get a lot out of the workshops. They’re designed for them and I hope they leave with more understanding about the world the find themselves in,” senior and MLK planning committee member Nick Madamidola said.
The panel which was assembled by the MLK Day Committee co-chair and history instructor Erik Wade included Chief Political Correspondent of Slate Magazine Jamelle Bouie, mathematics instructor Sami Atif, Darby Henry ’13 and DREAMer immigration activist and the Director of Latino Outreach for Hillary Clinton’s 2000 presidential campaign, Lorella Praeli. The diverse panel spoke for several different demographics of the school.
Henry, half black and half Japanese, posted a letter on Facebook that showed she was experiencing the same frustration as many students at the Academy. Praeli provided a real life example of a Latino immigrant. Atif explained the difficulties behind being both a black man and a Muslim in America. The discussions of the panel linked the commonalities of oppression and prejudice in each panel member’s life.
Atif said that for some students MLK Day is a time when they have hear things they’ve never heard before and are challenged in a new way. “We are planting seeds that we hope to see grow. You don’t have to figure everything out right now. That’s not the goal; the goal is to come in ready to listen and hopefully, in time, you will see the importance,” Atif said.
Upper Mac Perry joined the MLK planning committee because he believed it is necessary to promote the the acceptance of one another, regardless of what their background may be. For him, the day was important because it provides all of Exeter’s students with the opportunity to consider the perspectives of others. “Having the ability to provide students with this through the MLK Day workshops and seminars allows our community to grow and understand each other on a much more personal level,” Perry said.
Upper Jesus Rivera said the committee received criticism because several students believed the panel was too rigid and moderated; however, he thought that Ross did a great job with his Keynote and workshops. “I think that MLK day is important because MLK had a wonderful ideology about peace, love and working together as a community to achieve a better tomorrow,” Rivera said. “It appears almost self evident to me that Exeter should be striving to teach us those same ideals,” he added.
Upper Chris Agard also wished the panel would have been more discussion based but received good feedback on the workshops. He said, “I think it’s important to have these workshops because there are a lot of issues that go unnoticed and ignored that just cannot be ignored.”