The third Monday in January marks a federal day of commemoration in the United States of the life of civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. King became a leading figure in the fight for racial equality, including voting rights and labour rights, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his commitment to non-violent resistance. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, but his work and legacy continue today.

On Monday, January 17th, Trinity College School student groups organized presentations to educate their peers and staff about Dr. King. In the Senior School, Black Student Alliance (BSA) leaders Kamsy Onyekere, Bolu Abiola and Taige Emtage shared insights during the morning “Bear Essentials” virtual assembly. In particular, they spoke of Dr. King’s role in some of the key civil rights actions of the late 1950s and 1960s, such as the Montgomery bus boycott in protest of Jim Crow laws and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The BSA leaders shared ideas on how people could mark the day through education (such as listening to Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in its entirety or watching a film like Selma or Boycott) or action (such as buying from a Black-owned business).

Click here to read the full student presentation.

In the Junior School, members of the Allies Against Racism (AAR) group shared highlights from the “I Have a Dream” speech with their peers in an online presentation. The speakers shared Dr. King’s words, which are a message that endures today, of the need for a reckoning with racial injustice and the hope of an end to discrimination, oppression and segregation.

During the Senior School presentation, Canon Don Aitchison, TCS chaplain, shared a prayer written by Dr. King which reads, “We are not satisfied with the world as we have found it. It is too little the kingdom of God as yet. Grant us the privilege of a part in its regeneration. We are looking for a new earth in which dwells righteousness.”