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WOODSTOCK --- Jan. 16 Wes Jenkins’ “Topics in Critical Race Relations” was the annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration at Hyde School.
The class discussed topics ranging from Jim Crow Laws to the Little Rock Nine, as well as looking at other major figures of the Civil Rights Movement. “The spirit of the MLK Jr. Day celebration is to show the impact both he and the Civil Rights Movement had beyond the time period and across the world,” said Jenkins. “The struggle for Civil Rights was very long, and can be said to have begun immediately following the Civil War. This was therefore a century-long battle to attain rights that all Americans received.”
They then took part in workshops led by Hyde School faculty members on subjects dealing with cultural, racial, and social differences.
“My workshop focused on special needs and how they are often overlooked,” said Terry Walsh, assistant director of athletics at Hyde School. “They are an ‘invisible minority,’ a group of people that is still segregated to this day. Martin Luther King Jr. stood for what people could do instead of what they could not do, a sentiment that we need in our approach to special needs individuals.”
The day ended with students from Jenkins’ class leading a school meeting on what students learned and experienced during the day.
"Ultimately, my hope is that students at Hyde can learn through the various seminars, lectures and activities held during the day,” Jenkins added. “We need to be educated on the plight of others that is brought on by social, economic, physical, or cultural differences.”