In honor of the 40th anniversary of the national holiday, Sidwell Friends celebrated with a day of learning, reflection, and service.

Looking at the large black-and-white photographs displayed on easels in the Rubenstein Gallery and along the walls of the Robert L. Smith Meeting Room, you could almost hear the voices of protest, courage, and conviction. One iconic image records marchers, flags in hand, against the horizon during the Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965. Another shows a police officer attempting to pull an American flag from the fingers of a 5-year-old boy while putting him under arrest. Yet another shows a Selma marcher wearing zinc oxide to prevent sunburn, the word “vote” spelled out in the cream across his forehead. 

These and other photographs by civil rights photographer Matt Herron set the tone for Sidwell Friends’ Martin Luther King Day of Learning and Service—held on the 40th anniversary of the first observance of the federal holiday. Sidwell Friend held its first MLK Day in 2015, and then annually until 2020, when the pandemic made in-person events like this impossible.

Revived for this year’s anniversary by all-school Parents of Black Students Co-Clerks Sheba Douoguih and Shannon White, along with Parents Association Vice Clerk Bomi Anise, the celebration included an extraordinary panel of speakers followed by service projects and food-truck offerings. During the program, young children enjoyed time with performance artist and educator Jessica “Culture Queen” Smith.

Head of School Bryan Garman and Endowed Faculty Chair of African and African American Studies Dr. Jewell Debnam kicked off the event with remarks about the timeliness of the program and the power that comes with uniting around a shared vision.

Once everyone was seated but before the panel officially began, Michael Dimaggio, co-founder of Proximity Partnership Consulting, whose career has centered on advancing equity, access, and community-driven change, and Dr. Jeannine Herron, Herron’s widow, and one of the program’s panelists, spoke about the impact of the photographs and the importance of recording cultural and historical events. In collaboration with Herron, much of Dimaggio’s work includes trying to find people who were in Matt Herron’s photographs and bring them together. “There wouldn’t have been a Civil Rights Movement without young people—people who put their bodies and spirits on the line, who sacrificed so much in the name of change,” said Dimaggio. “It is meaningful for people to see their young selves in these images, and for families to see the courage and sacrifices of their kin. The images may be 60-plus years old, but they speak volumes about yesterday and today.”

Sharing a few insights from her life with her photographer husband, Herron, a neuropsychologist and co-founder of Head Start, also spoke about her father, who instilled in her the importance of character and bearing witness, which she and her husband—both Quakers—lived through their work, activism, and daily actions.

They were followed by a panel remarkable for the fact that most of its members played active roles in the Civil Rights movement—having seen, experienced, and fought for freedom and equality in some capacity along with King and other leading activists.

Panelists included Herron; Walter Naegle, an artist and photographer, surviving partner of late American Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin and executive director of the Bayard Rustin Fund; and Rev. Dr. Paul Smith, who, with King and Andrew Young as friends and mentors, entered the ministry in 1960 and soon became a stalwart marcher in the Civil Rights Movement, making diversity and inclusivity hallmarks of his life’s work. 

The panel, with Anise as moderator, shared stories and experiences and answered questions about having the courage to act in the face of danger, the conditions that brought different races and genders together in the fight for Civil Rights, and what this generation should know about fighting for freedom.

Naegle spoke about Rustin’s brave resolve to stand up, endure blows, beatings, and jail time—and his ability, especially as a Black and gay man, to overcome any despair along the way by leaning on his Quaker values.

Smith encouraged everyone to “listen and pay attention to the kids who are strong, thoughtful, and full of conviction.” He also spoke about memory, calling it “God’s gift” to the human spirit. “Looking at the folks in these photographs—and there are so many young people!—I come alive. I want to dance, to act, to make a contribution. Life always provides clues, so pay attention!”

Herron shared some of her salient experiences, which included the power of the movement’s music. “We would all stand up, hold hands, and raise our voices in song,” she says. “It was incredibly unifying and gave us the courage to go out and face the danger of what lay ahead.” 

And with that, she led the Sidwell Friends community audience to their feet, and with hands interlaced, the room filled with the words of the traditional gospel song, “This Little Light of Mine.”

“When I look at Herron’s photographs, I think of the quote, ‘joy is its own form of resistance,’” Anise said after the day’s event. “During the program, there was a palpable energy in the room.” 

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Lower School Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr, the Quintessential Upstander

This year’s annual Lower School MLK Jr. Day assembly, held on Friday, January 23, focused on the importance of “upstanders,” the division’s theme for this year. An upstander, as the young students have learned this year, is someone who knows the three steps of ACT—ask and assist, communicate clearly and calmly, and, if necessary, tell a teacher or adult.

With that idea in mind, the assembly introduced students to some of the people who worked alongside Martin Luther King or who demonstrated similar courage. They included disability rights activist Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins; Kiyoshi Kuromiya, a Japanese-American author and activist; the late Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel; and John Lewis, former Congressman and civil rights icon known for his non-violent activism. Songs and dances leant great texture to the event.