The Martin Luther King Day special program this year was, more than anything, an immense relief. After a divisive presentation on war-protesters that solicited rather mixed reactions from the audience a week earlier, the Choate community was more than thankful for Daise’s lighthearted presentation on the rich culture of Ghana and the lessons to be learned from its people. Daise’s use of multiple media was certainly impressive, and his rendition of the Gullah Gullah Island song was very entertaining; however, the program was ill suited to a celebration of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Day gives us the opportunity to celebrate Dr. King’s values of peace, social justice, racial equality, and non-violent protest. Though the program was certainly well intended, it only mentioned Martin Luther King, Jr., once. Dr. King might have been proud to see an African-American man addressing—and receiving approbation from—a predominantly white audience; however, few of the things Dr. King stood for made any appearance in the program. In fact, the presentation had nothing to do with Martin Luther King, Jr., save that Dr. King himself was an African American. There are more appropriate ways of honoring a man who did so much for our country.
I find it frustrating that, with an entire year to interview candidates and plenty of funding to hire them, the administration was unable to find a presentation more fitting for the holiday. In fact, the administration would not have to look far to locate a better speaker: there are numerous faculty members right here at Choate who could have made more appropriate lecturers. For example, during the short film preceding Mr. Daise’s presentation, English teacher Ed McCatty reflected on the influence of Martin Luther King, Jr., and on the sheer power of Dr. King’s speaking abilities. Mr. McCatty may have only contributed a few sentences to the program, but they were extremely inspiring, and I am sure that a speech on his impressions of Dr. King would have made a more appropriate program.
This program slot has great potential, especially considering that many of the people present at Dr. King’s speeches are still alive today. Martin Luther King Day provides an opportunity for us to reflect on a key member of the Civil Rights Movement--a moment in history that played an immense role in our national identity. In order to fully embrace that opportunity, however, the school needs to put more thought into their MLK Day speaker selections.
