On Monday, January 15th, more than six decades after Dr. King’s February 1963 Groton address, Groton celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Each year, Groton coordinates events and workshops for students to engage in, with the whole day dedicated to students practicing and exploring ways to bring Dr. King’s outlook to the school’s community.
This year’s speaker was Anna Malakia Tubbs, an author, advocate, and educator who was “inspired to bring people together by celebrating differences.” Tubbs was highly recommended by last year’s speaker, Arshay Cooper, who left an impactful message of pursuing a challenging passion, as a rower, author, and motivational speaker. Impressed by Tubbs’s work and fascinated by her unique viewpoints on motherhood, the Cultural Alliance (CA) and Ms. Chica came to an agreement to select her for this year’s program after viewing her distinguished TED talk, “How Moms Shape the World,” where she shares the need for a change in the current perspective towards motherhood.
Moved by her mother advocating for rights, Tubbs discussed the power of the three mothers who imparted to their sons the need to stand up to injustice, and who stood up for themselves even in the face of combined racism and sexism. During her speech, Dr. Tubbs especially emphasized that “[the mothers’] lives did not begin with motherhood; on the contrary, long before their sons were even thoughts in their minds, each woman had her own passions, dreams, and identity.”
Another highlight of MLK Day was the workshops that were organized throughout the day by form and led by CA heads. Teachers also had their designated workshops. The workshops aimed to emphasize the qualities of diversity and inclusion by encouraging students to expand their thoughts and immerse themselves in multifaceted perspectives.
These interactive workshops were modeled after activities from the Student Diversity Leadership Conference, a gathering of high schoolers from diverse cultures and backgrounds around the nation, which the CA attended in December at St. Louis.
Second, Third, and Fourth formers discussed socioeconomic status, as well as its relation to ideas such as family structure, political affiliation, and gender. Students went around different posters, adding their own ideas of how these things affect socioeconomic statuses. The Fifth and Sixth forms talked about Groton’s cancel culture, including a discussion of its benefits and disadvantages, and eventually coming to a consensus that jumping to conclusions with little evidence was toxic.
Olivia Herr ‘27, who participated in the workshop on socioeconomic status, expressed that she appreciated that a workshop was held about such a topical subject. “[The workshops] were beneficial in spreading awareness about the issues that socioeconomic inequality poses in society,” Herr said.
Carolien Creasy ‘25, who participated in the cancel culture workshop, also felt that the experience was overall “refreshing.” “I felt that during this workshop [about cancel culture], people were more inclined to abandon the ‘pack mentality’ and share their real, unfiltered opinions,” she said.
Every year on MLK Day, Groton Community Engagement (GCE) volunteers in Lowell to uphold Groton’s value of service for the community. This year, GCE attended and helped run the MLK ceremony led by organizers such as Middlesex Community College and Lowell City of Learning, where they experienced the celebratory performances of drums, songs, and dances of the culture. Lizzie Phan, the Director of Groton Community Engagement, shared that “the most important interactions are those that help our students practice the community values that we uphold as role model citizens and leaders.”
In the Arts department, this year’s Mudge Fellow, an African American artist Mitchell Rembert, offered an opportunity for students to explore his exhibition further through workshops titled “Legacy in Leather.” The exhibition is located in the Christopher Brodigan Gallery on the first floor of the dining hall. His works carry on his father’s legacies, as he creates images of stories told by his father, Winfred Rembert, depicting the life of a Black man in the United States.
MLK Day at Groton is an important day of inspiration and understanding. By spending a day with individuals who work to communicate an important message to the nation, their words and reflections bring a new vision to the community. Students share these lessons and embrace them around the Circle and everyone takes a step together to make a change themselves, through the meaningful gatherings on MLK Day.
