The community celebrated MLK Day on Monday, January 15 with guest speakers, workshops, community service, and conversations.

This year’s MLK Day theme was “Restoration & the Dream,” asking the question, “How do we engage in restoration—for ourselves, for others, for society?” 

Dr. Lisanne Norman, associate director of diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI), said, “The DEI Council hopes students will reflect on the idea and practice of restoration in their communities within and outside of the school. 

“Dr. King’s vision was a united human race able to respect and love each other for all that we are. By reflecting on and applying this dream, we would bring justice and move toward a more equitable society,” she added. 

On Sunday, January 14, the DEI Council, No Place for Hate club, and affinity group heads hosted a community conversation in the Faculty Room. The panel of student leaders reflected upon the goal of understanding how students can continue to work to achieve fairness, justice, and overall societal restoration. 

The next day, the community gathered in Walker Auditorium to welcome speaker Cleo Scott Brown. Ms. Brown is the author of Raceology 101 and Witness to Truth and a speaker and workshop facilitator focusing on race relations, voting, class, and bias. Ms. Brown’s family was involved in voting right activism and faced targeted attacks from violent white supremacist groups. 

The school offered a diverse range of workshops for students after Ms. Brown’s address. These included “Activism 101,” “Meditation for Activists,” “African Food History and Culture,” “Global Distributive Justice,” “Race, Redlining, and the Case for Reparations,” and an additional opportunity to engage with Ms. Brown. 

Students could also choose to volunteer in athletic clinics for young children or with Songs for Smiles, which puts on musical productions in the local community. They could also choose to prepare meals for the Corner Food Pantry in Lakeville and the Millerton Food Pantry. 

At the end of the programming, students gathered in their dorms for proctor-led conversation based on Dr. King’s speech “The Quest for Justice and Peace,” which he gave when he received the Nobel Peace Prize. 

As the closing event, two students from each dorm were welcomed onto the stage of Elfers to share the impact the day had on them.