The Presence of Justice: Honoring the Legacy of MLK
Cover image provided by the GCS Instagram page
It’s daunting to live up to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He mobilized millions, inspired generations, and changed the landscape of America. Grace honors his legacy by hosting panels and programs that teach us to judge not “by the color of [people’s] skin, but by the content of their character.” This is Grace’s way of turning King’s dream into a reality.
MLK Symposium week is far more than an escape from the monotony of everyday schoolwork . During the MLK symposium, students engage in student and teacher-led panels, attending presentations, assemblies, and performances by Grace students, faculty, and visitors. Students discuss topics of social justice, belonging, racism, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and more. The MLK symposium has transformed from its inception as a march and chapel, to a one day event, and eventually three days worth of community building.
Toby Nathan described the historical progression of the MLK Symposium. Originally, students just took part in the peace march and chapel, but the first MLK Symposium at the high school happened in January 2016. However, this symposium was only around 15 workshops and was “squeezed into a couple of hours between the chapel and lunch on a Wednesday,” as described by Dr. Nathan, a history teacher and a co-coordinator of the symposium. In 2018, Grace added a keynote speaker, extending the programming to the last half of a school day. In 2020, the program was expanded to a full day.
Jean-Robert Andre also discussed some of the details of the history of the event. He described how “the seed of [the symposium] came from the middle school.” When the high school opened, it brought new ideas and “its own understanding” to the event.
Dr. Nathan explained the student demands in 2019 “to give conversations around race, racism, and justice more space and attention in our crowded schedule.”
Mr. Andre noted that students wanted the MLK Symposium to be “deeper and more meaningful,” which paved the way for the event’s expansion. A big turning point came in 2021 when classes were still over Zoom, as this was the conception of the three-day symposium we know today.
Originally, the modified Zoom schedule allowed for this change, but it ended up becoming a permanent redesign. Dr. Nathan said that the school used the motto “no going back” after this meaningful change.
NK Iguh said the MLK symposium was able to grow into an event that is a “respected and established part of the curriculum.” Mx. Iguh also explained how faculty involvement in the symposium has grown throughout the years, especially in the symposia that are offered.
There is a lot of work that goes into planning and running the MLK symposium, as it is a significant undertaking to plan three days worth of varying events. Mr. Andre talked about the difficulty in timing, particularly because the MLK Symposium happens shortly after Winter Break.
The MLK planning committee begins discussions in October and continues convening until mid-December, meaning that when we come back from winter break, there is a copious amount of work to be done immediately.
Paul J. ‘25, who led the “Representation in Modern Media” symposium, noted how it was especially difficult to prepare for a workshop because there were so many finals the week before. Paul also described how it was “a bit overwhelming at points” to prepare and lead a workshop because he “wanted to make sure that [he] hit all the points, that the discussion was good, and that things did not just remain surface level.”
He explained how it was important to “spark people’s interests and keep people engaged,” especially because “it can be easy to be passionate about something, but not necessarily engage people.” However, he described how it was “really rewarding” to see people have interesting discussions in his workshop after all of the hard work he put into it.
People put in extra effort and dedication to lead workshops during the symposium, as they care about the Grace community and want to share their ideas. Mr. Andre explained that he particularly enjoys the workshops because they provide “an opportunity for students and teachers to dive into a passion or an interest or a curiosity, and offer a space for people to engage with them.”
Additionally, Mx. Iguh said it is nice to see “kids really support each other” in their workshops. Dr. Nathan described how much he enjoys “when the proposals [for workshops] start rolling in” because “the moments students propose workshops is the moment we see what ideas and issues our students want to walk about, teach about, [and] learn about.”
All of the events that are part of the MLK Symposium “center Black identity and Black voices, and issues around race,” according to Mx. Iguh. Much effort goes into making sure all the workshops address different “issues of race and equity.”
This year’s symposia offered a wide variety of topics on this theme, ranging from “Who Belongs at Grace?” to “Racism in Sports” to “Swimming Upstream: A Performance and Analysis of Bill T. Jones’ D-Man in the Waters.”
Students also got to take part in debrief sessions offered by different teachers, which included “Tea and Wii,” “Just Dance Spanish Songs,” “Music Listening Reflection,” and many more fun opportunities. Lastly, this year’s MLK symposium included the new tradition of the Day of Service, where students took part in various volunteering opportunities throughout New York City. These included many different events, including partnering with the Hetrick-Martin Institute to package goods from the toiletries drive, the Isaacs Center to deliver meals to seniors, and taking part in a quilt-making project.
Mx. Iguh explained how the Day of Service was “the next step” in the growth of the MLK symposium. Mx. Iguh described the abundance of different organizations that Grace created partnerships with. They stated how everyone had “two days of talking and thinking, and then one day of doing,” which allowed everyone to “apply the goodwill that we have generated to help people in our community outside of Grace.”
Building on the theme of community, another tradition of the MLK Symposium is to have students from Harlem Academy join Grace for the symposia and other events of the week. This year, Grace also welcomed students from the City-As School, an alternative public school in the West Village, which is one of America’s oldest public schools. The MLK Symposium highlights the voices of many different people, and inviting members from different New York schools provides one way of bringing different people and perspectives together.
Abigail, a student from the City-As School, reflected on how much she enjoyed attending part of symposium week because “it was nice to try something new,” especially since it was “really different than what [students at City-As] were used to.” Abigail described how “the workshops are very relevant,” as well as “very discussional.” She appreciated that she “didn’t feel like [she] was being lectured at,” but was rather an active participant in an insightful conversation.
One of Mr. Andre’s and Mx. Iguh’s favorite parts of the symposium is the keynote speaker. Mr. Andre said he enjoys “the opportunity to hear from someone outside of the community,” and that the speakers “reaffirm a lot of what we’re doing and talking about.”
Mx. Iguh discussed how special it was that Grace is able to bring in such impressive speakers, like Heather McGhee, a bestselling author, and this year’s keynote speaker.
Finally, in typical Grace Church School fashion, the symposium week ended with many performances, including musical numbers from Sarah W. ‘23, Savannah K. ‘24, and a finale from the Rock Band, bringing everyone to their feet to dance. There were also lively performances last year, including the one by Mwenso and the Shakes, and Mr. Andre remarked on “the power of coming together in song and movement.”
The MLK Symposium is an incredibly special part of the Grace community, as it allows everyone to come together to learn, share experiences and passions, and hear everyone’s voices. As Mr. Andre explained, the MLK Symposium is also a bridge between the first semester and the second because we can “apply what we’ve been learning for the whole semester and then begin to create reference points for the next semester.”
Nate Barkow ‘25, the author, is a staff writer for The Gazette.