{"id":6260,"date":"2023-01-31T17:37:21","date_gmt":"2023-01-31T22:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/?p=6260"},"modified":"2024-05-24T14:15:35","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T19:15:35","slug":"the-presence-of-justice-honoring-the-legacy-of-mlk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/the-presence-of-justice-honoring-the-legacy-of-mlk\/","title":{"rendered":"The Presence of Justice: Honoring the Legacy of MLK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cover image provided by the GCS Instagram page<\/em>
It\u2019s 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 \u201cby the color of [people\u2019s] skin, but by the content of their character.\u201d<\/a> This is Grace\u2019s way of turning King\u2019s dream into a reality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MLK Symposium week is far more than an escape from the monotony of everyday schoolwork . <\/strong>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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201csqueezed into a couple of hours between the chapel and lunch on a Wednesday,\u201d 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jean-Robert Andre also discussed some of the details of the history of the event. He described how \u201cthe seed of [the symposium] came from the middle school.\u201d When the high school opened, it brought new ideas and \u201cits own understanding\u201d to the event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Nathan explained the student demands in 2019 \u201cto give conversations around race, racism, and justice more space and attention in our crowded schedule.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Andre noted that students wanted the MLK Symposium to be \u201cdeeper and more meaningful,\u201d which paved the way for the event\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cno going back\u201d after this meaningful change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NK Iguh said the MLK symposium was able to grow into an event that is a \u201crespected and established part of the curriculum.\u201d Mx. Iguh also explained how faculty involvement in the symposium has grown throughout the years, especially in the symposia that are offered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul J. \u201825, who led the \u201cRepresentation in Modern Media\u201d 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 \u201ca bit overwhelming at points\u201d to prepare and lead a workshop because he \u201cwanted to make sure that [he] hit all the points, that the discussion was good, and that things did not just remain surface level.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained how it was important to \u201cspark people\u2019s interests and keep people engaged,\u201d especially because \u201cit can be easy to be passionate about something, but not necessarily engage people.\u201d However, he described how it was \u201creally rewarding\u201d to see people have interesting discussions in his workshop after all of the hard work he put into it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201can 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.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Mx. Iguh said it is nice to see \u201ckids really support each other\u201d in their workshops. Dr. Nathan described how much he enjoys \u201cwhen the proposals [for workshops] start rolling in\u201d because \u201cthe moments students propose workshops is the moment we see what ideas and issues our students want to walk about, teach about, [and] learn about.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the events that are part of the MLK Symposium \u201ccenter Black identity and Black voices, and issues around race,\u201d according to Mx. Iguh. Much effort goes into making sure all the workshops address different \u201cissues of race and equity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s symposia offered a wide variety of topics on this theme, ranging from \u201cWho Belongs at Grace?\u201d to \u201cRacism in Sports\u201d to \u201cSwimming Upstream: A Performance and Analysis of Bill T. Jones\u2019 D-Man in the Waters<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students also got to take part in debrief sessions offered by different teachers, which included \u201cTea and Wii,\u201d \u201cJust Dance Spanish Songs,\u201d \u201cMusic Listening Reflection,\u201d and many more fun opportunities. Lastly, this year\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mx. Iguh explained how the Day of Service was \u201cthe next step\u201d 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 \u201ctwo days of talking and thinking, and then one day of doing,\u201d which allowed everyone to \u201capply the goodwill that we have generated to help people in our community outside of Grace.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>, an alternative public school in the West Village, which is one of America\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abigail, a student from the City-As School, reflected on how much she enjoyed attending part of symposium week because \u201cit was nice to try something new,\u201d especially since it was \u201creally different than what [students at City-As] were used to.\u201d Abigail described how \u201cthe workshops are very relevant,\u201d as well as \u201cvery discussional.\u201d She appreciated that she \u201cdidn\u2019t feel like [she] was being lectured at,\u201d but was rather an active participant in an insightful conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Media of the Alumni Panel provided by Brando Babini ’23<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of Mr. Andre\u2019s and Mx. Iguh\u2019s favorite parts of the symposium is the keynote speaker. Mr. Andre said he enjoys \u201cthe opportunity to hear from someone outside of the community,\u201d and that the speakers \u201creaffirm a lot of what we\u2019re doing and talking about.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s keynote speaker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, in typical Grace Church School fashion, the symposium week ended with many performances, including musical numbers from Sarah W. \u201823, Savannah K. \u201824, 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 \u201cthe power of coming together in song and movement.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s voices. As Mr. Andre explained, the MLK Symposium is also a bridge between the first semester and the second because we can \u201capply what we\u2019ve been learning for the whole semester and then begin to create reference points for the next semester.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nate Barkow \u201825, the author, is a staff writer for The Gazette.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cover image provided by the GCS Instagram pageIt\u2019s daunting to live up to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He mobilized millions, inspired generations, and changed the landscape… Continue reading “The Presence of Justice: Honoring the Legacy of MLK”<\/span> <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":6263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,200,16],"tags":[180,834,873,875],"appful":[],"class_list":["post-6260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-recent","category-special-sections","tag-featured","tag-mlk-symposium","tag-recentarticles","tag-social-justice"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9uEnr-1CY","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/EDA824AA-CBF8-4E0D-92CC-8643D6AE373A.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6260"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6915,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6260\/revisions\/6915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6260"},{"taxonomy":"appful","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/appful?post=6260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}