Country School Community Honors Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

New Canaan Country School celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with age-appropriate curricular activities and alumni reflections culminating in divisional community gatherings, Jan. 13.

At the Lower School assembly, faculty members participated in a group recitation of a portion of Dr. King's “I Have a Dream'' speech. Kindergarteners sang “We’ve Got the Whole World in our Hands,” first grade students recited a poem of peace and second graders sang the anti-war song, Paz y Libertad, in Spanish. In addition to facilitating the assembly, fourth grade assembly speakers Billy Baruch of Darien, William Bria of Wilton and Abigail Overlock of New Canaan spoke of Dr. King’s life and activism within the Civil Rights Movement. The assembly concluded with a community sing-along of “We Shall Overcome.”

In the Auditorium, students in grades 6 - 9 gathered to hear alumna, poet and education reform activist, Kyla Johns ’12 reflect upon her journey as a person of color through school (Darien High School, Ohio State University) and a career centered around improving the experience of black, brown and indigenous students and inspiring others to become agents of change.

Additional alumni to share reflections, advice and experience with students in various grades included Don Burnes ’56 who together with his wife founded The Burnes Institute for Poverty Research at the Colorado Center on Law and Policy with a focus on advocating for the homeless, and former classmates Sydney Coffield ’18 and Dillon Mims ’18, each of whom spoke with students via Zoom. Recurring themes amongst the speakers included the importance of having a point of view informed through personal research and also the courage to voice —and at times defend— that point of view. In addition, each of the speakers pointed out that if they could become social activists, so too could the students. To illustrate this point, they each mapped out their path from Country School to where they are now and what they are currently doing.

Sydney, who aspires to become a criminal lawyer focusing on civil rights and social justice issues shared that she became inspired to become a social activist during her ninth grade expanded studies trip "The Civil Rights South." Currently, she is a sophomore at Duke University, majoring in Public Policy with plans to attend law school following graduation. Dillon shared that his journey to social activism began with an interest in history. While a student at Phillips Academy Exeter, he developed a podcast Living in Precedented Times, which explored patterns of historical recurrence in American history. He also began political organizing and became a leader on the academy’s Martin Luther King Day committee, allowing him to collaborate with and host notable figures such as Ibram X. Kendi, Roxanne Gay, and Bryan Stevenson. Currently a sophomore at Columbia University, he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

"As we continue to consider year after year, the courage and example of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his words and teachings, the past several months and years have offered us many glimpses into how easy it is for there to be a breakdown in civic discourse across differences. We are thus reminded of how important it is to be steadfast in our social justice efforts if we are to help our students and community embody good citizenship. These examples of our alumni working to turn Dr. King’s dream into a reality provides inspiration to us all,” said Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Kojo Clarke, who helped to organize the school's commemoration and study of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. along with teachers, administrators and the school's five-member faculty-staff team of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Facilitators.

New Canaan Country School is a co-ed, independent day school for students in Pre-K (ages 3 & 4) through Grade 9 living in Westchester and Fairfield counties. Graduates excel at top day, boarding and public secondary schools and go on to lead lives of impact and purpose. For more information, please visit countryschool.net.