鈥楥reate, imagine, connect鈥�: 91自拍 celebrates King
Academy centers words, wisdom of civil rights icon.
91自拍 students, faculty and staff spent a snowy Monday commemorating the life and legacy of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. with a full slate of speakers, workshops and discussion.
The student emcees of the event 鈥� Dani Mendez 鈥�27 and Kyle Kennedy鈥檚 鈥�26 鈥� kicked off the morning鈥檚 events by welcoming Principal Bill Rawson 鈥�71; 鈥�65, 鈥�70 (Hon.); P鈥�08 to the stage in Love Gymnasium. Rawson spoke of how powerful a presence King was in his life; how he grew up watching the civil rights leader on television and reading about him in the newspaper; and how King鈥檚 work helped shape his understanding of the world.
鈥淚 realize it is different for you,鈥� Rawson told the students. 鈥淵ou were not alive during Dr. King’s lifetime. Even your parents weren’t alive then.鈥� Just as Rawson learned about the Depression and World War II through his father鈥檚 stories, current Exonians learn about King鈥檚 life and legacy through reading about him, watching documentaries and hearing stories told by those who knew him.
鈥淸Today] is a chance for you to understand who Dr. King was, to learn about his life, and to be inspired by his courage and his conviction,鈥� Rawson said. 鈥淲hen you hear Dr. King鈥檚 words today鈥eep in mind that he was and still is speaking directly to each and every one of us.鈥�
Keynote speaker focuses on farmworkers
Stephanie Bramlett, 91自拍鈥檚 director of equity and inclusion, introduced the day鈥檚 keynote speaker. Oliver Rosales, a professor of history and ethnic studies at Bakersfield College, is the author of the award-winning book Civil Rights in Bakersfield: Segregation and Multiracial Activism in the Central Valley.
鈥淭he legacy of Dr. King looms incredibly large for historians,鈥� Rosales said. 鈥淢y goal today is to paint a picture about the intersection of Dr. King’s work with the farmworker movement, or what鈥檚 known as the heart and soul of the Mexican American civil rights movement.鈥�
Rosales spoke of his personal and family ties to the agricultural region in California where his grandfather immigrated to from Mexico, and where C茅sar Ch谩vez and other leaders would launch the farmworker movement in the mid-1960s just as King was leading his own movement of nonviolent protest in the South. 鈥淚 committed myself to researching and teaching history in a region that I wrote about, and that my family was rooted [in],鈥� Rosales said.
Through his talk, Rosales explored the ties between Ch谩vez and King and their respective movements, beginning with their mutual inspiration by Mahatma Gandhi鈥檚 philosophy of civil disobedience. Just as King鈥檚 famous 鈥淟etter from a Birmingham Jail鈥� in 1963 became a seminal text for the civil rights movement, Ch谩vez鈥檚 鈥淟etter from Delano,鈥� defending the farmworkers鈥� nonviolent struggle during a grape strike and boycott in 1969, would form the cornerstone of his United Farm Workers (UFW) movement.
鈥淭he most important history isn鈥檛 always made in the halls of power, but in the coalitions that we create when we imagine a different kind of strength,鈥� Rosales said.
Rosales read from a telegram King sent to Ch谩vez shortly before he was assassinated in April 1968, praising Ch谩vez鈥檚 hunger strike aimed at ensuring nonviolence in the farmworker鈥檚 movement. The link between civil rights and the labor movement continued under the leadership of Coretta Scott King, who threw her support strongly behind Ch谩vez, Dolores Huerta and other UFW leaders.
Scott King had 鈥渁 special empathy with farmworkers,鈥� Rosales explained, because of her childhood in the rural South. He displayed a photograph of Scott King with Huerta, singing 鈥淒e Colores,鈥� the anthem of the farmworker movement. 鈥淚t was a song about the beauty of a world made of many colors,鈥� Rosales said. He then sang a few measures in Spanish, to the audience鈥檚 delight.
鈥淚t was the multiracial power of what Coretta Scott King called a 鈥榗oalition of conscience鈥� that made the farmworker movement an enduring American civil rights legacy,鈥� Rosales said. 鈥淚t was the love of many colors that made Coretta Scott King bridge the world of her husband鈥檚 work with the struggle of the farmworkers.鈥�
‘How will you show up?’
In concluding his keynote, Rosales challenged the students in the audience, particularly seniors preparing to leave for college, to consider their own paths forward. 鈥淗ow will you show up?鈥� he asked. 鈥淲ill you define your success by the prestige of the rooms that you enter or by the coalitions that you create? Will you have the courage to imagine a strength that doesn鈥檛 rely on the threat of violence? Finally, who will you connect with? The legacy of King [and] the legacy of Ch谩vez teaches us that our brotherhood, our sisterhood is grounded in our common commitment toward each other.
鈥淲hether in a jail cell in Birmingham, a cotton field in Alabama or a community college in Bakersfield, the work of democracy is never finished, and it鈥檚 waiting for you to choose it.鈥�
The String Queens, a trio of string musicians based in Washington, D.C., performed before Rawson鈥檚 opening remarks, and again at the end of the keynote address, earning standing ovations from the assembled school community. The trio also joined 91自拍鈥檚 Concert Choir for a performance in the Bowld on Sunday as part of the MLK Day commemoration.
Devoted committee
Each January since 1990, the 91自拍’s observance of MLK Day has sought to center the work of King and the messages of the Civil Rights Movement. Through the work of a student-driven committee, the programming helps to advance the school鈥檚 mission to develop young learners who will 鈥渇ace the challenges of their day. Teaching and living the principles of a just and sustainable society.鈥�
This year, the committee presented workshops that invited their fellow students to 鈥渃reate, imagine, connect.鈥�
In a morning workshop titled 鈥淕rowing Your Chosen Family: How We Build Our Own Beloved Communities Across Identities,鈥� students ruminated on the ideas of belonging and inclusion. Workshop co-leader Rory Hart, chair of the History & Global Studies Department at the Hun School of Princeton, New Jersey, challenged students to consider times in their lives when they felt they didn鈥檛 belong. The workshop was co-led by Oluj Okeremi 鈥�27, Ese Okparavero 鈥�27 and Myles Oluwo 鈥�27. As his classmates pondered Hart鈥檚 prompt about belonging, Oluwo reminded the group that 鈥渢here is a big difference between being included and truly belonging.鈥�
The interactive workshop gave students a chance to respond digitally to series of questions such as, 鈥淲hat does it feel like to be included but not belong?鈥� Responses like 鈥渟ilenced,鈥� 鈥渟mall,鈥� and 鈥渦nseen鈥� quickly populated the projection screen.
Okparavero said he hopes his classmates found value in the exercises and discussion. 鈥淚 want my peers to know that they matter and no matter where they go, they belong.鈥�
A letter from jail
The day concluded with a reunion in Love Gym and a powerful reading of King’s seminal “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” a missive to his fellow clergy who had disapproved of his active participation in civil disobedience.
Nine 91自拍 students sat on stage behind signs with messages like “We Demand Our Rights” and “Racism Has Got To Go,” and took turns reading from the letter.
Near the letter’s end, King wryly apologized for his verbosity.
“Never before have I written so long a letter. I’m afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?”