28th Annual MLK Celebration

Thank you to the over 220 community members who joined us to participate in our 28th annual MLK Celebration on Tuesday, January 19. Following timely remarks by Sarah Pelmas, Head of School, the virtual audience enjoyed student performances including songs by both Lower School Chorus and Upper School Choral and Choral Sectional, a stunning dance performance involving students from all classes, a poem shared by the Class I Somos/Sister affinity group, and visual images from two Upper School artists. 


Keynote speaker Dr. Andrea Reid is the Associate Dean for Student and Multicultural Affairs in the Program in Medical Education and Director of the Office of Recruitment and Multicultural Affairs at Harvard Medical School. She shared the importance of focusing not on activity but on sustained and substantial impact encouraging, “put the community back in community service.” She believes we can all be activists if we focus on transformation over performative engagement and cautioned that diversity and inclusion are not the same. “Diversity is being invited to the dance. Inclusion is being asked to dance. Belonging is making the playlist.” Maintaining a zero tolerance for racism and being anti-racist requires an active dismantling of systems and norms that thrive on a race based hierarchy. She emphasized that this work will not happen on its own and it is up to each of us to be brave. We thank Dr. Reid for her insightful comments.


After Dr. Reid, Winsor alumna Maia Raynor ’12 shared her call to action for all of us to make this celebration of Dr. King’s legacy more than symbolic by examining our own class privilege. Maia is currently the Legislative Director for State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, and focuses on statewide initiatives for juvenile justice in the criminal legal system, youth violence prevention, and opportunity expansion for youth of color and LGBTQ youth. Lastly we heard Class VIII’s Emma Charity ’21 reflect on her family’s experiences and her own internship and research on combating health inequities. 
 

Many thanks to all who helped support the planning of this event. Winsor families can log on to WILD to view a recording of the 28th annual MLK Celebration under Resources.