Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Honored through Song, Poetry, and Performance
Last Friday St. Bernard’s came together as a community to celebrate and honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in an all-school assembly. It was the perfect way to set the mood leading into the holiday weekend.
The assembly was arranged by a collaborative group of teachers and staff, including Ms. Thomas, Mrs. Fertel, Mr. Risinger, Mr. Barrientos, Mr. Rodriguez, and Mr. Schwartz. They chose to begin the assembly with a short biography about Rev. Dr. King’s life and selected a wonderful video clip which immediately caught the boys’ attention. It was also important to them that students be included in as much of the assembly as possible. Our headmaster, Mr. Johnson, narrated the assembly and offered some background for each selection and helped set the stage for each performance.
Mr. Schwartz shared a personal story before reciting Maya Angelou’s Caged Bird. He described a time when he had the opportunity to meet Ms. Angelou. He had attended a reading and waited to speak with her afterwards. He was excited to tell her that he shared his first name, Guy, with her son. As they talked, they learned of another name connection. Maya Angelou’s first name was Marguerite, and Mr. Schwartz’s mother’s name was also Marguerite. Mr. Schwartz explained to the boys that he had never met anyone who radiated more grace and humanity than Ms. Angelou.
Other highlights from the assembly included a musical performance by St. B’s second graders. They sang “The Dream of Martin Luther King,” which was written shortly after the assassination of Dr. King. Merle Gartrell was a teacher in Memphis who collaborated with his students to create the lyrics to this song as a way to process their grief after the assassination. Susan Van Dyck arranged the music, and the final result was a moving musical tribute to Dr. King. St. B’s second graders performed the song beautifully, and they were so proud to honor Dr. King in this way.
Another highlight was a video compilation of selections from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The video combined actual footage of Dr. King’s speech with footage of St. B’s students and teachers reciting segments of the speech.
The energy in the room was fabulous, and after watching the video, everyone joined together to sing “We Shall Overcome.” The spirit of the assembly carried into the day and gave the boys plenty to consider as they embarked on the holiday weekend.
