Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Celebration and Project Ghana with Mr. David Brown

On Friday January 18, 2019, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School had an assembly to honor the remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on what would have been his 90th birthday.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr 90th birthday

To celebrate his 90th birthday, many participated to make sure this event would not be forgotten.

The following was taken from the program:

Mrs. Major-Phillips, the School Counselor, gave opening remarks in honor of Dr. King.

From there Mrs. Elgart’s chorus sang Lift Every Voice & Sing by James Weldon Johnson. The Lyrics were:

Lift every voice and sing, till earth and Heaven ring,

Ring with the harmonies of liberty;

Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies,

Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,

Sing a song full of hope that the present has brought us;

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,

Let us march on till victory is won.

From there was the Mistress of Ceremony, Hailey Perez, Student Council President, and Juna Weedon, Student Council Vice President, paying tribute to Dr. King and his 90th birthday.

There were also tributes to Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin and Jazz Singer, Nancy Wilson.

Mrs. Elgart chorus then sang We Shall Overcome, which was the Key Anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.

David Brown

After they sang, guest speaker Mr. David Brown spoke about the importance of unity in the world, which was stressed by Martin Luther King Jr.

For the final act, Mahir Taylor, Chase Lucas, and Nykiria Young sang “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke.

After the assembly, Mr. David Brown took time to participate in a Ghana session.

Mr. David Brown spoke about his trip to Ghana and inviting the students in Ghana to come to the United States so we could show the world how everyone could be united.

He also mentioned about his feelings about Cape Coast Castle and how the stench of death could be smelt. This was because of the horrific slave trade that took place there.

Mr. Brown also spoke about meeting Martin Luther King Jr.’s children as well as meeting Jessie Jackson.

He gave a history lesson on the importance of Marcus Garvey, Booker T. Washington, and W.E.B. Du Bois.

He went on to say if it were not for people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson there would of been no Barack Obama.

Mr. David Brown left this session with life lessons. He said the following:

Respect Yourself.

Do Right by Do Right, and Do Right Do Right by You

A dream written down with a date becomes a goal.

A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan.

A plan backed by action becomes a reality.