Shaker Heights MLK Day Commemoration

Shaker Heights MLK Day Commemoration

The Beloved Community: Civil Rights to Human Rights

January 15-29, 2024 A 15-day learning guide for people of all ages to explore Our Shared Humanity

“Diversity is the strength and beauty of our shared humanity.”

- Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu

Calendar of Events Sunday, January 14, from 3-5 p.m.: Donna Whyte, host of the "Witness to History" series of recorded interviews with Shaker residents, will host a live discussion with residents who lived during Dr. King's visit to Shaker Heights in 1965. Join us at the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Community Building.

Tuesday, January 16, from 5-8 p.m.: Human Library, a storytelling event for ages 18 and up, will feature real people becoming "books" and sharing their stories. Attendees may "borrow" these human books for conversations. Join us at the Main Shaker Heights Public Library.

Monday, January 29, at 7 p.m.: Reverend Nontombi Naomi Tutu, daughter of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and herself a sought-after speaker and advocate for justice, presents an engaging discussion on the theme of our MLK Day celebration: Beloved Community: Civil Rights to Human Rights.

Table of Contents

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Day 1

Coretta Scott King Gandhi

Day 2

Kasturba Gandhi Philosophy of Nonviolence

Day 3

The Civil Rights Movement

Day 4

Otis Moss, Jr.

Day 5

Edwina Moss Dr. King's Visit to Shaker Heights

Day 6

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Day 7

Nomalizo Leah Tutu Apartheid

Day 8

Nelson Mandela

Day 9

Election of 1994 Post Apartheid

Day 10

Ubuntu

Day 11

Woodbury Upper Elementary Beloved Community

Day 12

Art as Activism

Day 13

Rev. Naomi Tutu

Day 14

It Starts With Me

Day 15

Join us as we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. with a focus on nonviolent resistance locally, nationally, and worldwide.

Special thanks to the many volunteers who contributed to this 15-day focus on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. including: Students and staff at the Innovative Center for Personalized Learning, Student Group on Race Relations (SGORR), Shaker Schools Foundation, Family And Community Engagement Center (FACE), Shaker Heights Public Library, and the Shaker Heights Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).

Day 1

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. There he grew up with his three siblings and parents, Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta King. Spanning from 1894 to 1975, King's maternal grandfather, Adam Daniel Williams, and King’s father, Martin Luther King Sr., were Senior pastors at Ebenezer Baptist Church, creating a foundation for his life’s work.

At 15 years old, King began studying for a sociology degree at Morehouse College, an all male Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU). King was crowned Valedictorian of his class in 1948 then went on to attend Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. It was here when King first learned about Gandhi and became inspired by his nonviolent resistance techniques.

He finished ministry school in 1951 then completed his dissertation on systematic theology at Boston University in April 1955. That same year when Dr. King was just 26 years old, he coordinated the 13-month Montgomery Bus Boycott which ended with the Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.

This successful nonviolent mass protest served as an example for future civil rights campaigns with Dr. King as the leader of the national movement. In 1964, he was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for being “the first person in the Western world to have shown us that a struggle can be waged without violence.”

Martin Luther King, Jr (animated video)

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King was an African American civil rights leader, activist, author, mother, and the wife of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She was born April 27, 1927 in Marion, Alabama to Obadiah Scott and Bernice McMurray Scott.

During her childhood she was known to use singing and playing the violin as a form of activism. Scott King attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio where she studied music before transferring to the New England Conservatory.

She met her future husband, Martin Luther King, Jr., while they were both students in Boston. Scott King was already an activist and soon, they began to work side by side in the fight for equality.

During her lifetime, Scott King took part in many official international trips as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, including a pilgrimage to India in 1959 to learn more about Gandhi and South Africa in 1994 to attend Nelson Mandela’s inauguration as the first Black president.

After her husband's martyrdom, Mrs. King successfully lobbied for his birthday to become a federal holiday. Dr. King is only one of two individuals to be honored with a National holiday in recognition of their birthday. She continually took action to make the world a better place long after Dr. King's departure.

Coretta Scott King passed away on January 30, 2006. She was laid in state at Georgia's State Capitol, being the first woman and African American with that honor.

Online Sources for Additional Learning Her Story (video of Coretta Scott King) 135 years of Social Transformation at Ebenezer

Day 2

Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in India on October 2, 1869. During his lifetime, Gandhi pioneered the philosophy of nonviolent resistance and helped to free the Indian people from British rule. His birthday is observed annually as the International Day of Nonviolence in recognition of his worldwide impact.

Gandhi was raised with beliefs to include non-injury to all living things, fasting, and meditation. He wed Kasturba at age 13 in an arranged marriage and obtained a law degree in London by 18 years old. Gandhi first endured racial discrimination while living in South Africa. Despite having a first-class ticket, he was forcibly removed from the train for refusing to go to the lower-class section. In 1894, Gandhi officially began to mobilize others by forming the Natal Indian Congress then created a passive resistance movement called satyagraha. Between 1906-1913, thousands of Indians in South Africa joined him in nonviolent protests. Due to pressure from the British government, the South African government abolished the poll tax and recognized Indian marriages.

After 21 years in South Africa, Gandhi and his family moved back to India where he focused the satyagraha campaign on Indian Independence. He became leader of the Indian National Congress in 1925, organized the Salt March in 1930, and started the Quit India Movement in 1942. Gandhi became internationally known for using hunger strikes and his own imprisonment to advance social change.

He inspired tens of thousands of Indians to join him in the nonviolent fight against Britain, ultimately winning their independence on August 15, 1947. Gandhi was honored with the nicknames: Father of India and Mahatma, meaning great soul.

Gandhi suffered martyrdom by an extremist, but before his death, he wrote passionately about his philosophies. Through this work, Gandhi’s legacy lives on inspiring future generations of activists including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Kasturba Gandhi Born in 1869 to Gokuldas and Vrajkunwar Kapadia, Kasturba was the wife and integral partner to one of the most prominent figures in world history. She was also a leading activist for social, economic, and political equality in her own right.

Kasturba is often remembered as a simple and gentle person, but it was her obstinance, tenacity, and self-discipline that helped her stay committed to the goals of freedom. She was one of the first satyagrahis protesting the South African government in 1913 and by 1932, British officials regarded Kasturba to be as much of a threat to law and order as her husband. She believed women were better suited to lead mass protests and actively involved them in the campaign. For example, Kasturba dictated an appeal in the journal Young India for women to spin and produce their own yarn as a way to be self-reliant during the mass boycott on foreign cloth. The spinning wheel would become a symbol of Indian independence.

Gandhi (animated video)

Kasturba was arrested several times for civil disobedience and during her imprisonment would be kept separate from inmates because of her persuasive influence on others. It was 1944 during solitary confinement at the Aga Khan Palace when Kasturba would succumb to an illness. Sarojini Naidu, the first woman to hold the office of Governor in the Dominion of India, described Kasturba as “The living symbol of Indian womanhood. Never once did her feet falter or her heart quail on the steep path of perpetual sacrifice.”

Day 3

Philosophy of Nonviolence

Dr. King was very inspired by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and drew upon the concept of nonviolence. Over the course of his life, King developed Six Principles of Nonviolence. In the book, Stride Towards Freedom, he describes these fundamental tenets as a lifestyle meant to be embraced for creating social change.

The Civil Rights Movement was led by Dr. King, but millions of African Americans joined him in nonviolent civil disobedience, economic boycotts, creative arts, and communication with government officials. Unfortunately, peaceful protests were often met with violent resistance. The Children's Crusade in 1963 and Edmund Pettus Bridge march in 1965 are just two examples that gained national attention securing dramatic changes for equal rights under the law.

Dr. King was often compared to less pacifistic civil rights activists, including Malcom X. In an interview addressing this comparison Dr. King stated, “I have met Malcolm X, but circumstances didn't enable me to talk with him for more than a minute. I totally disagree with many of his political and philosophical views, as I understand them. He is very articulate, as you say. I don't want to seem to sound as if I feel so self-righteous, or absolutist, that I think I have the only truth, the only way. Maybe he does have some of the answer.

But I know that I have so often felt that I wished that he would talk less of violence, because I don't think that violence can solve our problem.”

Nonviolence has been practiced within national borders in India and the United States and in regions of Africa with spectacular success.

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1965

Dr. King’s Philosophy of Nonviolence Principle One: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people Principle Two: Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding Principle Three: Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, or evil, not people Principle Four: Nonviolence holds that unearned, voluntary suffering for a just cause can educate and transform people and societies Principle Five: Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate Principle Six: Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice Recommended Readings PK-4: The Youngest Marcher by Cynthia Levinson 5-8th: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia Teens+: March [trilogy] by John Lewis

Day 4

Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement, (1950-1960’s), was a nonviolent social movement and campaign in the United States striving to abolish legalized racial segregation and discrimination.

Introduced in the Southern United States as early as 1887, Jim Crow laws legalized segregation based on race in public areas including schools, parks, drinking fountains, restaurants, restrooms, buses, and trains. Black Americans were also denied the right to vote based on racially motivated criteria. In 1896, the Supreme Court upheld these discriminatory laws ruling that “separate but equal” was constitutional in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. The start of the Civil Rights Movement came in 1954 when the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” This landmark ruling in Brown v.

Board of Education ordered desegregation of school systems and set the precedent for other government structures to follow. Civil rights attorney, Thurgood Marshall, would become the first Black justice in 1967 after presenting 29 successful cases before the Supreme Court.

Dr. King is the most recognized name of the Civil Rights Movement, but many honorable men were on the forefront with him. Women and children also played vital roles in bringing about social change. For example: Diane Nash organized influential sit-ins and Freedom Rides; Ella Baker focused on grassroots organizing and voting rights; 6 year old Ruby Bridges desegregated an all-white school. Countless people engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience, creating an example still used today.

Gandhian method of nonviolent resistance became the guiding light of our movement - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1960

Pivotal Moments in the Movement December 5, 1955 - Montgomery Bus Boycott January 10, 1957 - Southern Christian Leadership Conference

September 1957 - Little Rock School Desegregation February 1, 1960 - Greensboro Sit-in May 4, 1961 - Freedom Rides June 23, 1963 - Freedom Walk in Detroit April 16, 1963 - Letter from Birmingham Jail May 2, 1963 - Children's Crusade August 28, 1963 - March on Washington September 15, 1963 - 16th Street Baptist Church July 2, 1964 - Civil Rights Act 1964 March 1965 - Selma to Montgomery March August 6, 1965 - Voting Rights Act April 4, 1967 - Beyond Vietnam February 1968 - Memphis Sanitation Worker Strike April 4, 1968 - Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. May 12, 1968 - Poor People's Campaign

Day 5

Otis Moss, Jr.

Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. has been fighting for social justice issues since the Civil Rights Movement. Rev. Moss was born on February 26, 1935 to Magnolia Moss and Otis Moss, Sr. Orphaned at 16 years old, he went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College in 1956, where he befriended Dr. King.

Rev. Moss participated in every major struggle during the Civil Rights Movement. He was arrested for sit-ins pushing for desegregation, helped to plan the March on Washington, and marched from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights, just to name a few. He was recognized for these sacrifices by being inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.

Rev. Moss received his Master of Divinity Degree and a Doctor of Ministry Degree. In 1975, he became the pastor of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland. As the leader of one of the area's most powerful churches for 33 years, he advocated for quality housing, education and medical care. In 1997, Rev. Moss partnered with University Hospitals for the Otis Moss, Jr. University Hospitals Health Center offering high-quality patient care in a spiritually supportive environment with integrated social and economic services.

Rev. Moss has counseled thousands of our neighbors and three presidents, received numerous awards, holds eight honorary degrees, and has preached the gospel around the world.

Shaker Heights was honored to have him be the guest speaker for the 2023 Commemoration.

Edwina Moss Edwina Hudson Smith Moss has played a supportive role to many well known Civil Rights leaders including her husband, Otis Moss, Jr., and Martin Luther King, Jr. Edwina's activism first began as the President for the Youth Council of a local NAACP chapter, but it was a student-led rally with Dr. King that steered her towards the contributions she is known for. From 1961-66, Edwina worked as the assistant to Wyatt Tee Walker and Andrew Young, Executive Directors for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) directly under Dr. King’s leadership. She helped to organize the Civil Rights Movement by working in the background with many other influential women whom she often acknowledges. “Young women, older women, women all over the South were really the major leaders in the Movement. The men got all the credit because they were out front. But the women were really the backbone of the movement.”

Edwina worked with the SCLC until she married Otis Moss, Jr. in a ceremony officiated by their friend, Martin Luther King, Jr. They have three children, Kevin, Daphne (deceased), and Otis, III. They are also the proud grandparents of five grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.

Maltz Museum

Watch

Interactive Biography

Reverend Otis and Edwina Moss Share

Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr.

Memories of Martin Luther King Jr.

2023 MLK Day Commemoration Rev. Moss, Jr.’s Speech on a Beloved Community in Shaker Heights

Day 6

Dr. King's Visit to Shaker

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made a visit to Shaker Heights, Ohio in 1965, when he was 36 years old. Although Dr. King was invited by Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell and her husband Rev. Dr. Albert M. Pennybacker of Heights Christian Church, he was not permitted to speak in the sanctuary.

Instead, some officials used the excuse that the facilities were under construction. Undaunted, the Reverends arranged for him to speak outside on the side porch of Heights Christian Church on Van Aken Blvd. Due to threats of violence to members of the congregation and many residents, a police officer spent the night inside the church before the event to help protect the property. While many people did not support Dr. King’s visit, it is estimated that about 1,000 people attended the weekday speech to hear him talk about the Civil Rights mission.

Dr. King’s many visits to the greater Cleveland area were in large part to help Carl Stoke’s political campaigns. Carl Stokes was eventually elected mayor of Cleveland, Ohio in November 1967, thus making him the first African American mayor of a major city.

We have come a long, long way, but we have a long, long way to go before the problem is solved.

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1964

Conversations in Courage The Shaker Arts Council presents a documentary on the controversial visit to Shaker Heights by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The story is told through interviews with people who were involved directly in bringing Dr. King here, as well as those who could provide historical perspective to the event. This film recounts the social and racial divisions among members of the Shaker Heights community, and it presents the broader social and racial tensions of the 1960’s Civil Rights movement.

Recommended Readings How can we continue to fulfill Dr. King's dream in Shaker as we move forward together?

PK-4: Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney

5th-8th: Harbor Me

by Jacqueline Woodson Teens+: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You

by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Watch MLK Visit to Heights Christian Church

Day 7

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born in Klerksdorp, South Africa on October of 1931. He was raised in a time of racial segregation and legal discrimination, but became one of the world's most prominent spiritual leaders and internationally known as a fundamental figure in the struggle to end apartheid.

Tutu began his career in education, but quit in protest when the discriminatory Bantu Education Act was passed. He then pursued theology and was ordained as a priest in 1960. Tutu quickly climbed the ranks in the Anglican Church and in 1978, became the first Black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. He used this global platform to bring awareness to the injustices happening in South Africa. During this time, while many leaders in the antiapartheid movement were imprisoned, Tutu was able to publicly condemn the government due to his prominent role in the church.

His impact was noticed, and in 1984, Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. By 1986, Tutu was chosen to be the first Black person to hold the highest position in the South African Anglican Church as the Archbishop of Cape Town.

Archbishop Tutu’s commitment to four fundamental demands regarding equal rights, helped to facilitate South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994. The newly elected president, Nelson Mandela, asked Tutu to oversee the Truth and Reconciliation Commission where he sought to apply restorative justice through the ubuntu philosophy and ideals of a Rainbow Nation. Later in his career, he led efforts to ordain women in leadership within South Africa’s Anglican church, and adamantly advocated for LGBTQ+ rights.

Tutu visited Cleveland in 1999, speaking at numerous locations including the City Club of Cleveland where he was given a key to the city. He was also awarded America’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2009. After a lifetime of accomplishments, Archbishop Tutu officially retired in 2010.

Nomalizo Leah Tutu Nomalizo Leah Tutu is a South African activist, teacher, nurse, and widow of Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Her contributions to the anti-apartheid movement were so impactful, that some honorary awards were given to both her and her husband simultaneously.

Born on October 14, 1933 to a domestic worker, Mrs. Tutu was always concerned about the working conditions in this profession. Due to the restrictions on jobs during apartheid, domestic work was a profession primarily held by Black women who were often exploited because of their race and gender. Tutu was a true advocate for equal opportunities and championed for better working conditions. She was director of the Domestic Workers and Employers Project of the South African Institute of Race Relations before co-founding the South African Domestic Workers Association in 1981, an organization pivotal for the right to unionize.

Archbishop and Mrs. Tutu married on July 2, 1955. Together they raised four children: Thamsanqa Trevor, Thandeka Theresa, Nontombi Naomi and Mpho Andrea. They celebrated 66 years of marriage before Archbishop Tutu passed away in 2021.

Online Resources for Additional Learning Watch : Nomalizo Leah Tutu Watch: Archbishop Desmond Tutu Watch: My Humanity is Caught up in Yours

The City Club of Cleveland 25 years after Archbishop Tutu spoke in Cleveland, his daughter, Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu, will participate in a lunch discussion on her fight for equality.

Day 8

Apartheid

Apartheid in South Africa was a system of laws which enforced racial segregation between the white minority and non-white majority for almost 50 years.

Afrikaanders are descendents of Western Europe. Dutch, German, and French settlers came to the South African region as early as 1657 forming a new community with its own language, religion, and national identity linked to Africa. When this group of white Africans won the 1948 election, they began to legalize discriminatory policies. Apartheid, the Afrikaans word meaning apart-ness or separating, started by officially classifying South Africans by race. A series of legislation established separate public facilities between races, banned interracial marriages, degraded education for non-white students, and striped Black South Africans of their citizenship and thus their political rights. These policies also gave 80% of the land to the white minority, forcibly moving Black South Africans to Bantustans, and required non-whites to carry official documents in certain areas. This legal discrimination was oftentimes enforced by the government through violence.

Martin Luther King, Jr. drew many parallels between the racial oppression in South Africa and the struggles of Black America. He believed the worst racism existed in South Africa though, even referring to the white rulers as “spectacular savages and brutes.” In 1966, Dr. King applied for a travel visa to speak at South African universities and with religious groups, but was denied entry into the country by the all-white government. King continued to urge international governments to economically and politically boycott the country, a strategy Archbishop Tutu also endorsed and ultimately helped to bring an end to apartheid.

And may I say to you that the problem of racial injustice is not limited to any one nation. We know now that this is a problem spreading all over the globe.

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1964

Recommended Reading PK-4: The Soccer Fence

by Phil Bildner

How did Dr. King’s work in the US affect the actions of others

5th and up: Born a Crime

by Trevor Noah

in South Africa addressing the apartheid?

Teens and up: Apartheid A History of Apartheid by Anna Revell

Sources for Additional Learning Teens+: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid Teens+: Apartheid Documentary

Day 9

Nelson Mandela

Rolihlahla Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 into the Madiba clan in the small village of Mvezo, South Africa. Despite these humble beginnings, the United Nations has declared his birthday an international day of celebration as well as a call to action for the next generation to help change the world for the better.

Given the name Nelson from a teacher in accordance with all schoolchildren having “Christian” names, Mandela always dreamed of contributing to the freedom of his people. He became politically involved with the African National Congress (ANC) and in 1952 was elected to lead the Defiance Campaign with Ismail Ahmed Cachalia of the South African Indian Congress.

This large-scale protest was the first time Africans and Indians joined together in civil disobedience against apartheid laws.

Although Mandela was sentenced to 9 months of hard labor in prison for his role, the United Nations began to investigate the unjust South African laws as an international issue.

Mandela was arrested many times for his activism and in 1964, was sentenced to life in prison for treason. Despite being held as a political prisoner for nearly three decades, his support within South Africa and worldwide remained high. When F.W. de Klerk became president in 1990, Mandela was ultimately released from jail.

Together they helped to bring a peaceful end to apartheid and were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Nelson Mandela was then elected President of South Africa in Nelson Mandela 1994. He focused his 5-year term on (animated video) reconciliation and socio-economic issues following apartheid.

Today, great leaders, like Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe, are among the many hundreds wasting away in prison.

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1964

Election of 1994 The United Nations General Assembly officially named apartheid a “crime against humanity'' in 1966 and in 1986, the United States imposed economic sanctions against South Africa.

This international pressure led the government to finally make changes in 1989. Newly elected President F.W. de Klerk, once a supporter of apartheid, released important political prisoners, repealed discriminatory laws, and began the four-year transition period to the country’s first democratic election.

Between April 26-29 1994 nearly 20 million South Africans, more than 85% of eligible voters, participated in this opportunity to choose their own government. There were 19 political parties on the ballot. The African National Congress won the election in a landslide with nearly 63% of the votes, making Nelson Mandela the first Black president of South Africa. In a show of national unity, members of the National Party and Inkatha Freedom Party were given positions in the new government. Almost immediately, the process for creating a new constitution began. It was officially certified on December 10, 1996 and is recognized as guaranteeing the most human rights of any constitution in the world.

Sources for Additional Learning All: Nelson Mandela biography Watch: Capturing Freedom: The 1994 Election

Day 10

Post Apartheid

Newly elected President Nelson Mandela established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to help ease tensions in the country as it dealt with the effects of apartheid. The TRC held the tasks of uncovering the causes of human rights violations, identifying the victims and providing amnesty to those who fully disclosed their involvement. The Commission, chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was in operation from 1995 - 2002 and received statements from more than 21,000 victims and 7,000 perpetrators who came forward to tell their experiences during apartheid.

Nearly 30 years since the end of apartheid, its legacy has been difficult to overcome. Persistent inequities include 62% poverty rate, nearly 42% unemployment rate, and 10.5% illiteracy rate in adults. White farmers still control about 73% of commercial farmland. Plus, South Africa has an ongoing energy crisis, leading to blackouts which threaten safety and productivity.

There have been some areas of improvement. In 1994 about 30% of South Africans did not have access to safe water. The Water Services Act of 1997 defined water supply and sanitation services as basic human rights and created a system to control those services. Millions of people have benefitted from this policy. In 2022, about 19% of South Africa’s rural population are still without a reliable water supply.

As of recently, South Africa has a highly developed economy and is one of the world’s largest exporters of gold, platinum, and other natural resources. Reforms are needed to ensure stability in this area.

We are in an era in which the issue of human rights is the central question confronting all nations.

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1965

Sources for Additional Learning Do you see any similarities between the U.S.A. and South Africa? What differences are there?

Watch: Nelson Mandela Inaugural Speech 5-8th grade: Apartheid: 46 years in 90 seconds Teens+: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid

How to Change the World

Day 11

Ubuntu

Ubuntu comes from the Nguni word for being human. It is an old African philosophy that puts an emphasis on interdependence with others and a shared humanity. This connection to one another is detailed in the phrase - I am because you are. You are because we are.

The ethical values of ubuntu include: respect, helpfulness, community, sharing, caring, trust, and unselfishness. This ideology is seen as a basis for cooperation, compassion, and communalism.

Passed down through generations, ubuntu has been a guiding philosophy for communal living. It was popularized globally during the 1990s as South Africa transitioned peacefully away from apartheid. After more than 50 years of racial segregation and discrimination, there was a need for healing. Nelson Mandela believed that the concept of ubuntu could promote reconciliation and forgiveness. In the preface to the book Mandela's Way: Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage he said, “In Africa there is a concept known as ubuntu—the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in this world, it will in equal measure be due to the work and achievements of others.”

Not only did Archbishop Tutu use ubuntu philosophy as part of the Truth & Reconciliation Committee, it continues to be an important part of South Africa’s national identity through educational programs and cultural events.

It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1967

Ubuntu at Woodbury Upper Elementary School At the beginning of the 2022-23 School Year through the idea and leadership of 6th grade Assistant Principal Arianne Thomas, Woodbury adopted the African ideal of Ubuntu as the driving spirit of our school year and beyond.

In an ever more distant and disconnected world, the idea that we are defined by our compassion and care for each other was profound and fitting for our students and staff. It is the interconnectedness of people at Woodbury and frankly any school or community that drives success. In small and large ways we impact each other daily.

At Woodbury, you will often hear students and staff say "That's Ubuntu" as they see ways that person-to-person and momentto-moment we impact and count on each other. Ubuntu in all walks of life is aspirational and an idea we aim to live by as we try to daily make our world a better place.

- Principal Eric Forman

6th Grade Band Ubuntu Performance

Day 12

Beloved Community

The term ‘Beloved Community’ was originally coined in 1913

by Josiah Royce, a Harvard University professor. Royce founded Fellowship of Reconciliation as an interfaith organization created to grow a movement of people dedicated to peace through nonviolence. Martin Luther King, Jr. became a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation during the Montgomery Bus Boycotts citing Beloved Community as the end goal of the protest. The term became more popularized as he referenced it many times throughout the years and in various speeches.

Dr. King stated that Beloved Community is “when caring and compassion drive political policies that support the worldwide elimination of poverty and hunger and all forms of bigotry and violence. At its core, the ‘Beloved Community’ is an engine of reconciliation.”

He recognized that conflict exists in life, but the beloved community could be achieved peacefully by employing Six Principles of Nonviolence and Six Steps to Social Change. Dr. King believed the main value of a beloved community is agape love, describing it as “an overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless and creative” with “no distinction between a friend and enemy; it is directed toward both…Agape is love seeking to preserve and create community.”

There are many opportunities to create a beloved community here in Shaker Heights. You can get involved year round by donating to a Little Free Pantry, join an advocacy group or school club, and learn more about our community through Witness to History.

Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.

Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.

- Nelson Mandela, 2005

6 Steps of Nonviolent Social Change Information Gathering increase your understanding of the problem Education inform others, including your opposition, about the issue to minimize misunderstandings and gain support Personal Commitment affirm your faith in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence Negotiation engage the opposition with a list of injustices and a plan for addressing and resolving them Direct Action impose a “creative tension” into the conflict when the opponent is unwilling to enter into, or remain in, discussion/negotiation Reconciliation Nonviolence seeks friendship and understanding with the opponent. Through reasoned compromise, both sides resolve the injustice with a plan of action

Day 13

Art as Activism

Throughout history art has been used as a form of activism and this was especially true during the Civil Rights Movement.

Influential leader Coretta Scott King organized a series of events throughout the 1960s which combined music and poetry to tell the story of the Movement. These Freedom Concerts also acted as a fundraiser for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and their mass demonstrations for equal rights.

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) also used Freedom Singers to detail the struggles in the south to a northern audience.

Visual art was also powerful during the Movement, particularly the black-and-white documentary images. Gordon Parks, photographer and advocate for civil rights, said “I chose my camera as a weapon against all the things I dislike about America—poverty, racism, discrimination.” Jacob Lawrence, one of the first nationally recognized African American artists and SNCC activist, painted scenes of nonviolent protestors clashing with the police. Charles Henry Alston also chose to highlight everyday Black people instead of key civil rights figures. In his painting Walking depicting the Montgomery Bus Boycott, he purposefully shows women and children to recognize them as the backbone of the Movement.

2024 MLK Day Commemoration Visual and performing arts will be part of the city-wide event on January 29, 2024. Artwork sponsored by the public library and created by community members will be on display. Plus, musicians from the high school orchestra and performers from the group Sankofa will be featured throughout the evening.

Reserve your free tickets for the city-wide event here!

The City of Shaker Heights brings together many cultures through community programs and inclusive policies.

Shaker Heights City Schools highlights different heritages through art exhibits and music.

For example, the high school vocal department has performed pieces relating to African culture such as Jambo Bwana.

Sankofa Showcasing Shaker students’ passion through dance, song, spoken word, and drama, the Shaker Heights High School club Sankofa, celebrates Black history while raising awareness about social issues in the Black community.

Their annual performance can be seen at the end of every Black History Month.

The Coretta Scott King Book Award is presented annually to Black American children’s and youth book authors and illustrators who demonstrate an appreciation for human values and African American culture. This award pulls on her value of the arts and her belief in their power and meaning.

Visit the Shaker Heights Public Library to check out a book today!

Day 15

Rev. Naomi Tutu

Born in 1960, Nontombi Naomi Tutu is the third child of Archbishop Desmond and Nomalizo Leah Tutu. While Naomi is an ordained Episcopalian minister like her father, she credits her grandmothers as her greatest early influence.

Tutu lived in many countries growing up including South Africa, Swaziland, and England before moving to the United States in 1978 to attend Berea College in Kentucky. This liberal arts college has an inclusive history as being the first in the south to be racially integrated and coeducational. Despite this, Tutu has been quoted to say that her experiences in the U.S. have been “like another South Africa, basically.”

Tutu went on to get her master's degree in international economic development from the University of Kentucky then attended the prestigious London School of Economics. Here she started a doctoral program with a focus on the intersection between political and intimate gender-based violence. She then went on to be the Program Coordinator for Race and Gender at the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town.

While her professional career has included everything from development consultant to an educator, Tutu described her life mission as being "to lift girls and women above the limitations of race, economics and gender.”

By the early 2000’s Tutu was recognized as a leader on gender issues, race relations, and the intersection between them. She decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary. Rev. Tutu is currently a priest associate at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Atlanta and a much sought-after public speaker.

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.

- Archbishop Desmond Tutu -

JOIN US Having lived in many countries throughout the world, Rev. Tutu has a unique perspective on race relations particularly with regards to the persistent racism in both post-apartheid South Africa and post-Jim Crow United States.

Shaker Heights City Schools, City of Shaker Heights, Shaker Heights Public Library, Shaker Schools Foundation, and the Parent Teacher Organization are excited to welcome Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu as the guest speaker for this year’s MLK Day Commemoration to discuss the Beloved Community: Civil Rights to Human Rights.

Reserve your free tickets for Monday, January 29, 2024 here!

Recommended Readings PK-4: Lift As You Climb, the Story of Ella Baker

by Patricia Hruby Powell 5-8: The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963,

by Christopher Paul Curtis Teens+: All the Days Past, All the Days to Come

by Mildred D. Taylor

Day 14

It Starts With Me

Though Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated at 39 years old in Memphis, Tennessee, his legacy lives on. The work that MLK championed during the Civil Rights Movement continues through each of us.

“The King Center embraces the conviction that the Beloved Community can be achieved through an unshakable commitment to nonviolence” and offers a way forward. By using Dr. King’s Fundamental Philosophy of Nonviolence and his Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change we can carry on his legacy of agape love.

“BE LOVE is a movement born amid the immense uncertainty and global tension”, challenging this generation, to help society. By acknowledging the following statements, you can help unravel critical issues facing humanity.

1. The violence, oppression, inequity, injustice, and hate in our world has to STOP. 2. I have a responsibility and role to play in creating social change for a more just, humane, equitable, and peaceful world.

3. The decision is mine whether to do nothing in this moment, or to have the courage to stand up for justice If you agree then it’s time to take the BE LOVE Pledge and help to create The Beloved Community!

It is necessary to see that human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals...

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1964

Shaker Heights Beloved Community Did you know that you can help to make MLK’s Dream come true? Fill in the list with how you plan to make a difference!

1. Talk to a friend from a different neighborhood 2. Donate to the Little Free Pantry & Little Free Libraries 3. Attend City Council & School Board Meetings 4. Become an active member of a grassroots organization 5. Join a new sport, club, or community group 6. Watch Witness to History 7. VOTE 8. ____________________________________ 9. ____________________________________ 10. ____________________________________

Recommended Readings PK-4: I Promise by Lebron James Where Do We Go From Here

5-8th: Enough! 20 Protesters Who Changed America by Emily Easton

Dr. King’s speech from 1967

Teens+: Dear Martin by Nic Stone

on the importance of love

The Martin Luther King, Jr Commemoration and Celebration was achieved through the collaborative efforts of:

The City of Shaker Heights The Shaker Heights City School District The Shaker Heights Public Library