Convocation: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
January 16, 2018
After the screening, Jose Powell, Director of Diversity, spoke briefly about his own experiences. After requesting all 18-year-old audience members to identify themselves, Mr. Powell asked them to imagine his father’s life. Born in rural South Carolina, Mr. Powell senior was 38-years-old before he had his first opportunity to vote. This moment of personal truth was the lead-in to a plea for authenticity, for students to “be real” in their more intimate dorm-group discussions.
The students were asked to consider Dr. King’s words in the context of their own lives. For example, Dr. King spoke of “white backlash,” and students reflected on similarities and differences between the Black Power movement of the ‘60s and the contemporary phenomenon of Black Lives Matter. In an effort to rebut a frequently heard comment, Dr. King recounted a chance meeting on an airplane. A stranger asked why black community members could not just do something for themselves. Dr. King characterized the comment as a “cruel jest,” like saying to a bootless man that he “ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps.” Without naming names, students were asked if they had ever heard comments similar to the ones from the man on the plane. The small group discussions continued for more than an hour, as Cate students and faculty shared their thoughts about racism and the state of American society as characterized by Dr. King and as learned through their own experiences.
Even in the context of a winter trimester already truncated by multiple evacuation days, the School chose to exchange homework and study hours for a long moment of community reflection. Dr. King’s commitment to civil rights and social justice is one of the underpinnings of Servons. In this time of shared upheaval and nearby tragedy, it is fitting that Cate students and faculty reaffirm their dedication to building a better world.