Special Events Honor Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. In the midst of a very snowy January, enthusiastic students, faculty, and staff took advantage of the more than a dozen Martin Luther King Jr. Day workshops, presentations, and performances hosted by faculty, students, and off-campus guests. The day’s special schedule began with All-School Meeting, featuring keynote speaker Lani Guinier, the first black woman appointed to a tenured professorship at Harvard Law School. Guinier, who served in the Civil Rights Division during the Carter administration, was head of the voting rights project at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in the 1980s, and was a tenured professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in the 1990s, challenged conventional thinking on the issues of race and class. Several hundred students were treated to “Mr. Glass,” a powerful oneman show by professional actor Jonathan Dent ’05. Through hip-hop, dance, comedy, and impersonation, Dent explored the fragilities of race and identity, recounting the first time he was called the “N-word,” the impact of verbal abuse and discrimination, and the thrill of hearing of Obama’s victory.
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Award-winning documentary filmmaker, writer, and anti-sexism activist Byron Hurt hosted a workshop titled “Manhood in America” and a viewing of his documentary-in-the-making, Soul Food Junkies, which examines the clash of culture and class across America’s kitchens. Hurt is a longtime gender violence prevention educator and has appeared numerous times on national television. The goal of the Academy’s 21st celebration of MLK Jr. Day, says Dean of CAMD Linda Griffith, was to “create a climate on campus that would allow us to think and talk about the challenging issues that face our increasingly diverse community and world.” Funding sources for the day’s events included the Elizabeth Rogers Lectureship, the Ullman Family Fund, and Abbot Academy Association grants.
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—Jill Clerkin
1. David Canton, associate professor of history and director of the Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity at Connecticut College, led student discussions about racial and ethnic stereotypes. 2. Along with hosting two workshops, filmmaker Byron Hurt held a campus screening of his documentary, Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes. 3. Chelsea Grain ’12 (left) chats with Harvard law professor and civil rights activist Lani Guinier at a special CAMD luncheon. 4. CAMD Scholar Hector Kilgoe ’11 presented “The School Bus: Boston’s Desegregation Legacy” in the Addison’s Museum Learning Center; Head of School Barbara Landis Chase was his faculty advisor.
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5. In his “Mr. Glass” performance, actor Jonathan Dent ’05 recalled his sudden awareness that he and the janitor were the only two African Americans in his grammar school. Photos by Gil Talbot
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