The Spirit of MLK, 2018

Over the past two weeks, students in the Upper School experienced the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in very tangible ways. The celebration began with the our annual Spirit of MLK award, which was conferred on Upper and Middle School students who were recognized in an essay contest.

Isaaq Bashir’s (‘19) winning essay is linked here.

Grace Devine’s (‘19)  winning essay is linked here.

Owen Hoffsten’s (‘18) winning essay is linked here.

The award recipients attended the MLK Jr. dinner hosted by the Portland chapter of the NAACP. Waynflete’s Atia Werah (‘18) was the dinner’s emcee. More information about that event is linked here.

On Tuesday, the 23rd, Waynflete alum Bay Love (‘00) was interviewed by two seniors, Atia Werah and Nick Jenkins, on stage at assembly about his work promoting racial equity.

A video of the full assembly is linked here.

More information about Bay, the Racial Equity Institute for which he works, and the assembly itself is linked here.

An assortment of faculty and student reflections on the assembly is linked here.

A school-wide conversation about race and racism followed Tuesday’s assembly in homerooms immediately following the assembly. Then, at Thursday’s assembly, a group of students delivered a powerful message to their peers and teachers, in essence, challenging our community to live up to our mission-based commitment ensuring that Waynflete is a community to which we all belong. It was a fitting reminder of the work that remains if we as a society and as a school are to live out the true meaning of Dr. King’s vision.