January 18, 2012
John Witherspoon School

TALKING ABOUT DR. KING: Speakers at JW’s observance of Martin Luther King Day included (from left): Borough Mayor Yina Moore; former Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman; and former Township Mayor Michelle Tuck-Ponder. (Photo by Stephen Dunbar)

“Leadership” was the theme of last week’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day observance at John Witherspoon Middle School (JW). A packed audience in the school’s auditorium enjoyed a multi-media program that included song, dance, choral speakers, a video, and comments from Borough Mayor-Elect Yina Moore; former Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman; and former Township Mayor Michelle-Tuck-Ponder.

Community leaders in the audience included Township Committeeman Lance Liverman and Township Deputy Mayor Liz Lempert. Students also made sure to acknowledge the achievements of community activist Shirley Satterfield; former Township Mayor James Floyd; and former JW principal Bill Johnson, all of whom were unable to attend the event.

“What I love most about my job are the opportunities to be together,” said JW Principal Jason Burr in his introductory comments. “This is one of them.”

Students’ rendering of Mr. King’s “I have a dream” speech was made more touching by the image of diversity suggested by the wearing of different color T-shirts. Langston Hughes’s poem, “I Too Sing America” received a striking treatment by two students who alternated reciting in English and Spanish, and a dance sequence, interrupted by the wail of police sirens (intended), was a chilling reminder of the persistence of troubled community relations in the country.

A chorus, led by student Gabe Greenwood in a gospel version of Oh Happy Day, pretty much brought the house down. Audience members reacted collectively and individually to the rousing number (“Will you listen to that!” Ms. Trotman said).

“Without a doubt, the opportunities that I have had are attributable to the leadership of Martin Luther King,” said Ms. Moore, a Princeton University alumna, in her comments. Students listened quietly as Ms. Moore recalled how she and an earlier generation of black students walked, to the tune of “We are Marching to Pretoria,” from the Nassau Street School [The Witherspoon School for the Colored] to the John Witherspoon Middle School.

Ms. Trotman noted that there was no “one thing” about Martin Luther King, Jr. that she liked best. “It was him as a person; his entire being,” she said. Speaking, in particular of 1959 and the “tumultuous” years when she was in college, Ms. Trotman recalled that “the whole atmosphere was just inspirational to me” as Mr. King “went from town to town throughout the country.”

“Children like you” were leaders as people mobilized during the Civil Rights movement, Ms. Tuck-Ponder told the audience. Although Rosa Parks assumed the mantle by refusing to give up her seat on a bus and may not have perceived herself as a leader, Ms. Tuck-Ponder insisted that she was. “Anybody and everybody can be a leader. We all have the fire of leadership in us.”


MartinLutherKingDay

“LOUDER, PLEASE”: Keynote speaker Bob Moses encouraged youngsters to proclaim the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution at Princeton University’s Martin Luther King Day program. (Photo Courtesy of the Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite.)

Bob Moses, currently a Distinguished Visitor at the Center for African American Studies, was this year’s keynote speaker at Princeton University’s Martin Luther King Day celebration. The program, which took place on Monday afternoon in Richardson auditorium, examined the role of education in achieving civil rights as participants encouraged listeners to continue Dr. King’s “journey.”

President Shirley Tilghman cited U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s belief that “education is the civil rights issue of our generation.”

Mr. Moses is credited with creating “a pedagogical revolution” with his Algebra Project (see http://www.algebra.org), and he did something pretty revolutionary at the Monday program. Asking all the teen-agers in the audience to join him on the stage, Mr. Moses led them in what he described as a “we the people” session. The goal was to demonstrate the belief “that every child has a right to a quality education to succeed in this technology-based society and to exercise full citizenship.”

In an earlier skit leading up to the recitation, a young black man named “Jimmy Crawford” tried to help a black woman register to vote, without success. Minutes later when Mr. Moses asked the 50-plus youngsters on stage who Jimmy Crawford worked for, their resounding response was “the people of the world.” To emphasize his belief in getting “Jim Crow out of education,” and the importance — and appropriateness — of using the Constitution as a tool to achieve that goal, the Harlem-born activist then led the youngsters through the Preamble. “It doesn’t say ‘we the press,’” he told them. “It doesn’t say ‘we the Supreme Court.’ It says ‘we the people.’”

Members of the audience on Monday afternoon included Congressman Rush Holt (D-12); Mercer County Freeholder Andrew Koontz; and Township Committeeman Lance Liverman.

In her opening comments, vice provost for institutional equity and diversity Michele Minter introduced the educational focus of the program by citing “dismal” statistics and the on-going presence of inner-city “drop-out factories.” This year, she noted, marks the 55th anniversary of the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas “by the brave and steadfast young people known as the Little Rock Nine.”

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” Ms. Minter observed, citing Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

This year’s Journey Award for Special Achievement went to senior Sandra Mukasa, who was described as “a bold and dynamic leader.” Since her arrival in 2008, Ms. Mukasa “has not been shy abut working to create an environment that is welcoming and safe for students who are part of the LGBTQ [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, Queer] community.”

Introducing sociology and international affairs professor Miguel Centeno, this year’s recipient of the Journey Award for Lifetime Service, Ms. Tilghman spoke of his work as a founder of the Princeton University Preparatory Program in 2000 (PUPP), a mentoring program for disadvantaged high school students. After ten years, evidence shows that PUPP alumni have college retention and graduation averages above national averages. and have attended some of the best schools in the country, including Princeton.

Some youngsters had an opportunity to return to the Richardson stage when the winners of the annual visual arts, literary, and video contests were announced. Students had been asked to submit original writings, artwork, and videos that focused on “the importance of a quality education as a foundation for success throughout life.”

Well-received musical interludes at the beginning and end of Monday’s program were provided by the Ewing-based New Perspective Jazz Band.