As is typical at GPS, classes were in session during the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. It is a day off for many, but GPS has always considered MLK Day to be an opportunity to educate and inspire, said officials.
In a break during the regular school day, Upper School students attended one of a number of workshops and then viewed a student-directed documentary on the Civil Rights movement in Chattanooga in preparation for a special speaker on Thursday who will discuss Chattanooga’s response to current civil rights' issues and challenges.
Students in the Civil Rights and US History from 1960 electives led the workshops on topics including the Attica Prison Riots, Malcolm X, I Too Am Harvard, Angela Davis, Nonviolent and Violent Protest, Stokely Carmichael, the 16th Street Church Bombing, and Social Media and Ferguson. The educational presentations generated wide-ranging discussions.
Middle School students heard about the segregated and discriminatory practices that existed in the United States in the early 1960’s. Students also heard how Dr. King took a courageous, leadership role impacting the positive changes that began in the 1960’s. Sixth graders watched the movie Ruby Bridges, seventh graders engaged in activities to link elements of Dr. King’s life to their own, and eighth graders held a discussion on To Kill a Mockingbird, their current class reading, and race issues pertinent to the novel’s 1930’s setting.