MLK Day Celebration

"Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love."

—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from his 1964 Nobel Prize acceptance speech

Last Friday morning a recording of the words above played throughout the commons, opening the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, continuing a longstanding NWS tradition of setting aside a day to celebrate Dr. King’s life and legacy. After a collaborative reading of the rest of the speech and a welcome from the senior organizers, the teach-in style event continued with an array of workshops, class activities, speakers and performances themed around Dr. King’s message of non-violent struggle for peace and justice.

This year’s workshops were led by students, faculty members, alumni and guest presenters including: poet Jordan Chaney, musician Gabriel Teodros, community leaders Rahwa Habte of OneAmerica, “Maid” Adams of the Congress of Racial Equality, Wyking Garrett of the Umojafest P.E.A.C.E. Center, Silvio Aleixo Dos Reis from the Union Cultural Center, Amelia Swinton and Mariah Pepper from Solid Ground’s Marra Farm and authors of The Silence of Our Friends, Mark Long and Jon Demonakos.

The event continued with an uplifting keynote speech by Bobby Forch of the Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative, and concluded with an inspired musical and spoken word performance by our own Steven Wilber and his band Jubilee.

In many meaningful ways, this annual celebration serves to strengthen the school’s connections with its surrounding communities and reminds us of the importance of our interpersonal connections with one another. Hopefully this year’s event will provide an additional platform for NWS students, faculty and parents to continue the conversation about diversity and inclusion within the school and peace and justice in the world.