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Saint Mary's School News

Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2021

Saint Mary’s School is pleased to announce plans for celebrating and honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the week of MLK Day 2021.

The MLK Day planning team – whose members include Assistant Head of School Carol Killebrew, School Counselor Aisha Burton, Olivia Hodge ’21, Tommi Wilder ’22, and Chaplain Maggie Stoddard - has developed the following program for this year’s MLK Day observance, adapted in 2021 for COVID protocols.

Monday, January 18 (MLK Day) - Campus-wide screening through advisory groups of the 2014 film Selma. The film will be preceded by a brief introduction to contextualize it within the full span of Dr. King’s life and work.

Tuesday, January 19 - Morning chapel service honoring Dr. King. We will hear his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech (from 1964), pray his Thou, Eternal God prayer (from 1953), worship and celebrate his legacy with Freedom Songs and a reading from the third chapter of Exodus.

Wednesday, January 20 – Interactive presentation during the Connected Saints hour. Students and faculty will share favorite excerpts from some of Dr. King's speeches and sermons, along with prompts for discussion. Advisory groups will work together to identify the various issues raised and reflect on how these issues remain relevant today and the social, economic, and political dynamics involved. Programming will conclude with a celebration of the history being made in Washington, D.C., as our nation’s first Black woman vice president, Kamala Harris, is inaugurated.

"Starting off 2021 celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King is something we need, as a country and especially as a school," says MLK Day planning team member Tommi Wilder '22, a junior boarding student. "So much has happened in 2020, and we don’t know what is to happen in the future. Anyone can see that what happened during Dr. King's life is happening during our life right now. The protests, the cries for help, and the racism. All of it is repeating itself. Taking the time to see that and to educate ourselves will help us better advocate for change. Black Lives Matter is a movement that I know Dr. King would be proud of, and I am glad that this is something I am a part of, knowing it will make changes to our country and our world is something great. We need to take time more often to learn about our American history and what people like Dr. King did in the past in order to keep taking steps in the right direction."