NEW GLASGOW – Just as one of the most influential freedom activists stood up and proclaimed his dream of peace, tolerance and equality, students stood in front of their peers Monday to say what their dreams are.
Students of Temperance Street at Brown School assembled to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day by watching videos about his life, the civil rights movement and the famous “I have a dream” speech.
Grade 5 students stood up and said they wanted to see bullying and racism end and to see everyone living happily together. Their sentiments correlated with King’s dream, all wanted peace and happiness in the world and for no one to discriminate based on race, ethnicity, religion or gender.
One student said after watching Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech he wants to continue to live out what King envisioned for a peaceful future.
Another student said she hoped she could be exactly like King, and will one day help make his dream a reality by making a difference in her community, treating all people fairly and not littering. Another student said she wanted to live in a world where no one picked on others because of their gender or race.
Grade 6 students performed a group reading about the series of events that happened in the civil rights movement including Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a bus, the bus boycott that followed, and the Birmingham march.
The students chanted the way the activists did, saying, “We want freedom. We want freedom.”
New Glasgow Mayor Barrie MacMillan and councillors Clyde Fraser and Henderson Paris attended the students’ presentation and passed the students cake that read “Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.”
Principal Glen McCarron said he felt it was important that his students learn about what King did and the civil rights movement because it sends that message to students that if you set your mind to something, anything can be achieved.
“It’s important for the kids to understand the importance of everything that Martin Luther King Jr. did and how he’s shaped the world that we live in today,” McCarron said. “It’s also a good example to follow for the kids, to realize that he had a dream and we heard today some of their dreams and anything is possible.”
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated the third Monday in January.
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