Subscribing to the Dream: Honoring 30 years of the MLK Youth Rally
The legacy of civil rights leaders Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Leola Bullock marched on during the 30th anniversary of the MLK Youth Rally Jan.19.
This year’s theme was “Subscribe: A Walk Together in Love.” King’s words of “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love,” and this generation’s social media usage inspired it.
“Our main focus is, ‘How can we subscribe to the rally? And how can people subscribe to what we're saying in our speeches?’ and so we're really working on having positive youth action and promoting and engaging the community,” Addison said.
Addison is a junior at Southeast High School and a member of the rally’s scholar planning committee. She performed an original spoken word poem called “JUST ice.” Addison has participated in the rally for the past five years.
“I can see the improvement in the progression of this movement and this mission throughout my five years,” she said. “I think it's really important to keep everybody in the movement, and keep the generations motivated to do better.”
The MLK Youth Rally has been an integral part of the Lincoln community since Bullock helped start it in 1995. The longtime local civil
rights activist wanted to create a platform to amplify youth voices and empower them to stand against injustices. Dozens of supporters show up each year to sustain her mission and vision even after her death in 2010.
“The walk has always included youth and supporting the rally is really about making sure scholars holistically are supported and we, as Dr. Bullock challenged us to, are subscribed to stand up and speak out in a walk together toward love,” Peter Ferguson said. He has served as the rally lead advisor for 28 years.
Lincoln Public Schools students also play a vital role in the event annually. From performances to organizing it, they are involved in every step of the process, like committee member Lukas. He is a sixth grader at Goodrich Middle School and this is his second year participating.
“Subscribe means in this rally to be like you’re contributing, you’re here to help and believing that you could change the world,” Lukas said.
Lukas got his start by performing as one of the Belmont Scholars in 2024. Motivated by last year, Lukas returned to do a rendition of Charles Morgan’s “A Time to Speak” – a speech made after the Birmingham, Ala., Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963.
“It made me feel good because I know someone out of this place is gonna take something away from my part,” he said.
The 30th anniversary of MLK Youth Rally also brought back several past participants from over the decades including LPS Executive Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Brittney Hodges-Bolkovac, Lincoln City Attorney Yohance Christie, and alums Jason Wagner, Keyara Taylor and Eva Sohl.
“It was a really great opportunity to work with other students from different schools throughout the district and talk about issues that I was really passionate about as far as what my personal experience was like as a student of color, but also, like, the history of the civil rights movement, what it was like and what it looked like in Nebraska,” Sohl said.
Sohl, a 2004 Northeast High School graduate, started assisting with the event as a sophomore in the early 2000s. Her involvement continued post-graduation as she worked as a rally facilitator with Ferguson until 2009. The Lincoln native now works in New Orleans as a social worker. She said the MLK Youth Rally instilled in her important values like relationship building, intentionality and having bold conversations.
After 15 years of being away and watching from afar, she was delighted to be invited to return and
reunite with other rally alumni and bond with newer participants to continue King’s and Bullock’s work of equity in her beloved community. She and fellow alumni member Daniel Turner helped lead the crowd in the “I am somebody” chant to conclude the event, which attendees used to say while marching to the State Capitol in previous years to pay homage to the past tradition.
“It just brings me a lot of hope that there's more and more of us sort of coming up with this shared vision of a world where everyone can feel loved,” Sohl said.
WHAT’S INSIDE:
SECTION A:
A3 Lincoln TeamMates: Lynell and Jasmine, Game for Anything
A3 Community Awareness Event: Online Safety
A5 Sustainability at LPS: Garden Gathering
A9 Looking for a Book?
A11 Menus
A12 Healthful Habitats: New partnership helps second graders learn about animals at zoo
It's really important to keep everybody in the movement, and keep the generations motivated to do better.
- Addison, Student
Lincoln TeamMates
Lynell and Jasmine, Game for Anything
In the beginning, Lynell was just excited to get to know her TeamMate, Jasmine. She’d had a mentee before and knew that the relationship process, while not difficult, could take time.
“A lot of people think you need to teach your mentee or something. But it's really more of a sharing experience.”
After having a quiet, shy mentee previously, Lynell enjoys a different experience now.
“Jasmine was outgoing and talkative from the start, which I thought was wonderful.”
Jasmine is impressed by the way Lynell is game to try anything she suggests, including slime.
“She always goes into things that I want to do. She kind of goes out of her comfort zone to do them, like throwing slime back and forth in the library.”
They both laugh remembering Jasmine’s “slime phase.” It wasn’t just
about the slime though. It was also about building a foundation of reliability and trust.
“She actually listens,” Jasmine says. “Some people don’t listen.”
Lynell sees the benefit for them both.
“I think, you know, she's comfortable sharing with me about her family, about what she’d like to do, so I think that we feel pretty comfortable together.”
And Jasmine agrees.
“I trust her with my life. TeamMates is a lot different than just talking to a person. It’s mostly about making friends, slowly, like working on and finding new things you like, or different things you can do with your life.”
Lynell sees Jasmine as “strong,” one of three words she chose to describe her mentee.
“There are times where she's, I mean,” she turns to address Jasmine directly. “You’re strong because you’ve had to be.”
Lynell shares an example of what she means.
“As she was talking about a person at school who bullied her, I saw the steps, the mental steps she took to work that out. She realized it wasn't really her problem, but the other person's problem. She realizes how she can grow from those situations rather than feel sorry for herself.”
Jasmine is an avid horse lover and works with horses as much as she can. She rides some, including a bareback experiment which landed her with a broken arm. Like her mentor, she’s not afraid to try new things even if it means a setback.
“I will try anything,” says Lynell. “I don’t mind failure, do I?”
The verdict is clearly in on her mentor. High school lies ahead and after that, they both hope, the chance to go see horses together for the first time.
COMMUNITY AWARENESS EVENT
LEARN TO PLAY LACROSSE
Join Lincoln Youth Lacrosse March 15 at Cook Pavilion for a FREE camp introducing kids to one of the fastestgrowing sports in the U.S.
Lacrosse is a fast-paced game that offers kids a chance to stay active, build teamwork, and develop new skills. Boys & Girls grades K-Senior, no matter the skill level, are welcome!
Ready to give lacrosse a try? For questions or to register, go to our website: growlincolnlacrosse.com OR scan the QR code below!
SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2025 Scan the QR Code to register!
10A-11:30A COOK PAVILION 845 N. 14TH ST (UNL CAMPUS) REGISTRATION IS FREE!
growlincolnlacrosse.com
k-long camps at Children’s Museum this summer children in grades rising 1st-3rd
27-30: Master Builders
ne 2-6: H2O Explorers : Bugs, Bees, and Butterflies
16-20: Around the World
-27: Red, White, and Boom uly 7-11: Shark Week
y 14-18: Mystery Week
y 21-25: Make a Mess
August 1: Wizarding World
August 4-8: Workin’ on the Railroad
lincolnchildrensmuseum.org/camps register today; spots are limited!
4-H is America’s largest youth development organization! In 4-H, youth:
• Choose from over 50 projects to “learn by doing” (such as STEM, photography, food & nutrition, home design & restoration, horticulture or various animals).
• Develop practical and life skills.
• Explore interests and career “sparks.”
• Participate in leadership and community service activities.
• Earn recognition such as ribbons, awards and scholarships!
• Have fun while making new friends!
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Hands-on learning experiences for K-8th grade students
Variety of STEAM-infused topics
Half-day and full-day camps
Before Care and Lunch Care options at select locations
Scholarships available
Older stuents can volunteer to be Camp Assistants
What Other Parents and Camp Assistants Are Saying .
2025 CAMP WEEKS
June 2–6
June 9–13
June 16–20
June 23–27
July 7–11
SUMMER DAY CAMPS • $195/week*
• Air Park Community Center
• Belmont Recreation Center
• Calvert Recreation Center
• Irving Recreation Center
• McPhee Elementary School
June 2 - August 8 (no camp 6/19 & 7/4)
NATURE CAMPS AT PPNC
• Discovery Camp (Ages 3-6) • $110/4-day week
Jun. 2-5 • Jun. 9-12 • Jun. 30-Jul. 3 • Jul. 7-10
Jul. 21-24 • Jul. 28-31
• Explorers Camp (Elementary Ages) • $232/week
Jun. 2-6 • Jun. 9-13 • Jun. 16-18* • Jun. 23-27
Jul. 14-18 • Jul. 21-25 • Jul. 28-Aug. 1 • Aug. 4-8
• Navigators Camp (6-8th Grades) • $232/week
Jun. 30-Jul. 2* • Jul. 7-11
ADAPTIVE DAY CAMPS
• Art Camp (13+) • $90/week
Jun. 2-6
• Drama Camp (13+) • $120/week
Jun. 9-13
• Sum Fun Camp (5-21) • $100/week
Jun. 16-18, 20* • Jun. 23-27 • Jul.7-11 • Jul. 14-18
* There is a reduced rate for shorter weeks.
Register for the whole summer or for individual weeks.
SECONDARY
Healthful Habitats: New partnership helps second graders learn about animals at zoo
Some of my students have been thinking about going into education, and the field trips gave them an opportunity to see what it would be like to help teach younger children.
- Mitch Bern, SFP Teacher
Local high school students are helping to create thriving academic environments for several thousand second graders at Lincoln Children’s Zoo this year.
Science Focus Program (SFP) students represent Lincoln Public Schools in a new partnership with Lower Platte South Natural Resources District (LPSNRD) and Lincoln Children’s Zoo. The agencies are sponsoring habitat field trips to the zoo for all 2,931 LPS second graders. Approximately half of the elementary schools took tours during the first semester, and the other half will learn about animals this spring.
Gabi, Ophelia, Colin, Cayleigh and Liam were five SFP students who assisted with the field trips. The seniors worked with Lincoln Children’s Zoo Education Coordinator Amy Heusinkvelt to craft memorable adventures with giraffes, bald eagles and bobcats. Heusinkvelt led the tours and high schoolers lent their zoology knowledge to each expedition.
“The kids were amazing, and I really liked how we were able to be involved in a project like this that involved animals,” Ophelia said. “It’s why I wanted to come to school here, because I’m interested in studying animals.”
“I liked hearing what they had to say,” Liam said. “It was fun to hear their answers to some of the questions. You could tell that they were really paying attention to what was going on.”
SFP teacher Mitch Bern said many students in his animal behavior
course gave enthusiastic feedback about their experiences this fall. High schoolers learned more about animal behaviors and ecology while preparing for the field trips, and they were role models for younger students who were eager to see mammals, birds and reptiles.
“Some of my students have been thinking about going into education, and the field trips gave them an opportunity to see what it would be like to help teach younger children,” Bern said.
Gabi said volunteering for the tours will also serve her well in her future scientific career.
“There’s a lot of communication that takes place in science, so getting to help with these field trips was really good for us,” Gabi said.
“A big part of research is communicating what you’ve found out about something to other people. We had to break down what we know about animals to the second graders, and as scientists, we’re going to have to break down our research in our papers or speeches. If we can do that with the elementary kids here, then we can learn to do that in our jobs too.”
Heusinkvelt and LPSNRD Environmental Educator Adam Sutton said there have been many benefits from the multi-agency partnership. Animal habitats are one of the main units in the second grade CKLA curriculum that LPS has implemented this year. The wildlife encounters reinforce those initial textbook lessons, and they are also planting seeds of conservation knowledge in every classroom. The
alliance includes shared funding from LPSNRD to cover admission costs.
“With this field trip specifically, I think it is so cool that kids learn what a habitat is and then come to the zoo to see hundreds of mini-habitats up close,” Heusinkvelt said. “It makes it a lot easier to understand exactly what animals need to survive when they see it in action. Also, just spending time outside is always of benefit to kids.”
“Providing students positive experiential learning opportunities about our natural resources throughout their childhood will help lead them to make good resource management decisions as adults,” Sutton said. “Outdoor/ nature-related field trips give students the opportunity to expand on many of the lessons they learn in the classroom and build meaningful connections to some of our natural resources, in this case, wildlife and their habitats!”
The zoo-based field trips teach students about the habitat needs – food, water, shelter and space –of Nebraska wildlife, non-native wildlife and endangered species. Children feed giraffes, watch bald eagles spread their wings and discover how bobcats roam in Nebraska grasslands.
Heusinkvelt and the high schoolers showed second graders this fall how each animal helps their specific ecosystem. They also explained why it is critical to protect habitats and how zoos help preserve animal species. Each class also received
one hour to explore the zoo on its own.
Saratoga Elementary School second grade teacher Brea Kreikemeier said meeting animals face to face made a big impact on her students. They identified many Nebraska animals to help connect to their local surroundings, and they learned science-based lessons about creatures from across the world.
“Students enjoyed having the opportunity to feed the giraffes and learn about their unique traits,” Kreikemeier said. “We enjoyed having the zoo leaders share their knowledge about the animals with all of us.”
Heusinkvelt said guiding classes like Kreikemeier’s put a smile on her face every time.
“I love getting to celebrate and foster students’ innate curiosity,” Heusinkvelt said. “Many of these students have never been to the zoo before, so being the one to introduce them to the excitement of feeding a giraffe or seeing a penguin swim is so rewarding. I also really appreciate the chance to teach about native Nebraska animals and habitat and remind students that we have a lot of incredible animals in our own backyards.”
The SFP seniors said it was fulfilling to experience the joy of helping others. They said they will remember spending time with the second graders for many years.
“They had such big hearts,” Gabi said. “It was really fun to be part of something like this.”