Community Anticipates MLK Day
By LOGAN BECKERLE, JAYDEN OH, ARJUN VELAN, and MEGHAN TATE ZEE
On Dec. 9th, 1989, James Montford went on a six-day-long hunger strike to highlight the absence of a holiday dedicated to Martin Luther King. This started a ripple effect all across the academy and began our celebration of MLK Day. MLK Day is a time when Exonians do activities and attend assemblies that educate us on African-American history.
The MLK committee meets weekly to plan the events for this special day. Committee member, upper Mary Olasore said, “The first few meetings we discussed MLK to to give ourselves an idea of what we’re going into and what our plan for this year’s MLK Day is.”
Olasore later commented on the committees’ subsections, “There’s on Silence, which I’m directing this year. There is the community service committee, which goes out into the community and plays with the kids and teaches them about MLK Day. It’s a lot of fun. And then there’s logistics and planning committee; then there’s workshops committee.”
Since the introduction of MLK Day, the keynote speaker has been very important. Past speakers have been notably crucial in working on civil rights, John Lewis former congressman and key figure in the civil rights movement, and John Forte a Grammy-nominated artist who used his platform for change are a small glimpse into our past keynote speakers. The 2019 Kirkus Prize winner for nonfiction, Saeed Jones has been announced to take the reins this year. Jone’s podcast, Vibe Check, has been noted by the New York Times, Vogue, and CBC Radio to be one of the best this year and he has had many award-winning essays and poetry even popping up in the Oxford American.
Our other featured speaker Corey Johnson is an investigative reporter for ProPublica and his work won him the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He will speak on how journalism can and will be used to make a more fair and just world.
Olasore talked about the event options planned for the day, “We have workshops, so we invite professionals from different areas and give them a topic about MLK, which is whatever we’ve chosen for the year.” She adds that there will be a variety of workshops, such as dance classes and community service activities.
Outside of speakers, the MLK Tribute Concert in “The Bowld” and Unsilenced 2025 at Goel are being performed on Sunday, January 19th at 1 PM and 7 PM respectively.
The MLK Tribute concert will be performed by student music including our very own PEA Band, Concert Choir, and Chamber Orchestra. The headlining “I Have a Dream” will be performed by Phillip Lima and Timothy Steele. Phillip Lima has rave reviews from organizations such as the Boston Globe and has been described as “A vibrant baritone and commanding presence.” Timothy Steele is a respected poet and is highly regarded in his field by peers and students.
The MLK committee has been working tirelessly each week to provide Exonians with a day full of fun, education, and encouragement to acknowledge the history of African Americans in this country.