Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy

St. Stephen’s annual Martin Luther King (MLK) Day event has been a bedrock of our school’s diversity programming for nearly 30 years. So when Austin experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases at the time of the early January holiday, we rescheduled rather than canceled the event.
 
“It is difficult to imagine not celebrating and commemorating the day in the ways that we customarily do,” said Head of School Chris Gunnin. Fortunately, by April 8, students and staff were able to gather in person to commemorate King and recommit to our shared values of diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice.
 
The special day kicked off with advisory meetings and Chapel services for both Middle School and Upper School students. Sixth- and 7th-grade students collaborated on a “Tree of Hope and Dreams” art project, then 6th graders held discussions on community justice while 7th graders watched the movie “Selma.” Eighth graders toured the Carver Museum before returning to The Hill for a discussion on urban housing and homelessness. Middle School students ended the day with separate grade reflections on their learnings from the day.
 
After morning Chapel and advisory meetings, Upper School students watched the documentary “I’m Not a Racist, Am I?” featuring 12 teenagers from New York City who were filmed during a yearlong series of workshops on race and privilege. Following the movie, students broke into small groups to discuss the issues raised in the documentary, such as how they define racism and how it affects their daily lives. Their conversations were guided by Liza Talusan, Ph.D., an educator specializing in identity consciousness and anti-racism in schools. She was aided by school faculty who spent hours training to facilitate these sensitive subjects with our students. 
 
Special thanks go to Yvonne Adams, St. Stephen’s director of equity and inclusion, as well as Preston Achilike, Sam Davis and Caitlin Sweetlamb, co-coordinators of equity and inclusion.