MLK Day Sheds Light on Racial Injustice

Exeter’s annual observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day took place on Friday, January 13. The Academy showcased student voices in the keynote address, held a required speech titled “Strength for the Struggle” and offered a diverse range of additional workshops for students and faculty to attend in lieu of classes. Each of the day’s events emphasized a reality that racial injustice still prevails in today’s United States, and that the Exeter community has a responsibility to address it.

The theme of this year’s MLK Day, “Racial Injustice: Reflective, Creative, Disruptive,” conveyed the committee’s goal: action. The workshops and speeches encouraged the Exeter community to face uncomfortable truths, to listen with an open mind and to do some serious self-reflection. Above all, it encouraged attendees to use their education to stand up to racial intolerance.

The MLK Committee kicked off the weekend by inviting students to a screening of Ava DuVernay’s award-winning documentary 13th, a film that exposes America’s staggering upsurge of mass incarcerations as a surreptitious form of modern-day slavery.

“Even if you don’t care about the activism that’s going on in the country right now, I hope that you can at least have empathy for the people we know.”

The film presents many a sobering statistic (in the first thirty seconds of the film alone, President Barack Obama explains that the U.S. accounts for a mere 25% of the world’s prisoners), shows videos of police brutality and features an array of prominent voices at the forefront of social justice activism. The film elicited emotional responses from numerous attendees. Upper Molly Canfield was simultaneously amazed by the cinematic prowess of the film and shocked by its content.

She never thought about how a “little loophole” in the 13th Amendment allowed slavery to prevail in modern society. “I think it was an amazing way to start the weekend,” she said.

On Friday, students attended the annual keynote address, “Activists, Allies and Beloved Community: Voices of Hope and Struggle.” This year’s keynote address was unique in that the school chose not to bring in a professional speaker and instead looked to four seniors to talk about their own experiences.

Senior Aidan Wolff-King spoke about the importance of “owning up” and performed a rendition of RJ Walker’s slam poem, “Said the Confederate Flag to the American Flag.” Senior Nada Zohayr gave a speech on the significance of emotions. Zohayr believes that all too often, “we try to overlook our own feelings, deeming them illogical or insignificant.” In her speech, Zohayr encouraged students “to succumb to their own emotions,” and concluded that embracing our feelings is a crucial step in discussing topics of race and racial injustice.

Senior Kesi Wilson shared an anecdote from her childhood. Her story was a meditation on fear and strength, one which she conveyed to the community by narrating the moment in her childhood when teenagers pelted her with stones while she was walking home, helping her mother carry groceries. Senior Kelvin Green reflected on the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. Green called attention to the fact that, in fear of discomfort, people disregard the legitimate accounts of those who differ from themselves. Invoking the memory of King, Green implored Exonians to step out of their comfort zones and into action.

Several student a cappella groups also performed: Exeteras, Sans Hommes, Women’s Chorus and Concert Choir. Outkast and Precision collaborated to execute a commanding Step performance that echoed through the gym and impressed many spectators.

Upper Maya Kim, a member of MLK Day Committee herself, spoke about what she hoped people would learn from listening to student speakers in the community: “People of color are important people, and their experiences mean just as much as the experience of a white person. These people who talked to us today are people that we care about.” Kim continued, saying “Even if you don’t care about the activism that’s going on in the country right now, I hope that you can at least have empathy for the people we know.”

Although most students harbored the utmost respect for the eloquence and candidness of our Keynote Speakers, some expressed discomfort at Committee Chairman Mr. Simpson’s joke, “Smurf Lives Matter.”

“Likening the Black Lives Matter Movement to a high-school rivalry is ridiculous,” said one student who wished to remain anonymous.

Another student, Upper Abigail Clyde, said she thought Mr. Simpson was trivializing the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement.

This year’s required workshop was Onaje O.X. Woodbine’s Strength for the Struggle: Resistance through Street Basketball. In his presentation, Woodbine reinforced the idea that people of color do not have the resources they need to fight a system that ceaselessly works against them. Woodbine viewed basketball as a way to rise above the weight of injustice and to cope with hardship.

Praising Woodbine’s workshop, lower Elizabeth Madamidola thought his speech was relevant to the theme of the day. “I could relate to him really easily because I knew the places he was talking about, and when he mentioned people that died, I was familiar with who those people were. It made the event seem more significant to me,” she said. Madamidola appreciated the use of mixed media in his workshop because she thought it made the presentation more engaging.

Kip Bordelon, founder of Picardy Group and leader of the workshop, “Are There Two Americas,” believed that Exeter should keep the spirit of MLK Day alive throughout the year by having teachers integrate the historical and current experiences of people of color into existing course and by creating new courses that take those experiences into account.

But for Bordelon, the real priorities were tolerance and understanding.

“Challenge yourselves to be open-minded, to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. And do so in a meaningful way. Just because you sit in a class, African American History class for instance, it doesn’t mean that you don’t still harbor a certain lease,” he explained. “But be honest about it, and be open—with yourself and with others,” he added.

Bordelon also affirmed the Academy’s entreaty that students and faculty continue to embrace discomfort in the fight for racial equality. “I think there’s an expectation that Exeter leads the way, and I think they have absolutely done just that,” he concluded.