We may have come a long way in the nearly 49 years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., proclaimed his dreams, but the struggle for equality and nonviolence is far from over, which was the focus of a recent D-E Upper School Martin Luther King, Jr. Assembly. The assembly program, an annual D-E tradition, featured a number of students who provided thought-provoking words coupled with video and images of a tumultuous 2011 not unlike the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

“Silence is the key, nonviolence is the way” was the theme of the program, as proclaimed by 3 Amigo Poetry (students Dan Garcia, Austin James, Avery Landau) at the opening of the assembly. Dr. King's philosophy of non-violence was then presented through video clips of Mahatma Gandhi, juxtaposed with various interviews of Dr. King.

Dr. King's six principles of nonviolence from his 1958 book, "Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story", were introduced prior to an eye-opening recap of the many protests that took place worldwide last year, which prompted "Time" magazine to name their 2011 Person of the Year "The Protester".

Amit Shah ’12 spoke about his Senior Focus topic, the Arab Spring, which began almost exactly a year ago when Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian street vendor who was publicly humiliated and assaulted, burned hímself in protest, sparking the Tunisian Revolution. The uproar in Egypt that began last February, that ended for Libya in October, and that continues today in Syria were mentioned before student Rammy Elrafei spoke of how Egypt's Tahrir Square protests "woke up the country and woke me up in process."

Of course, we would be remiss if neither Occupy Wall Street nor Occupy UC Davis were mentioned, both of which proved just "how loudly young people's voices were heard."

While speaking up rather than acting out was the main message, the inverse was also explored, with students noting that the "power of silence is good when used as an agent of change, bad when used as an act of cowardice." One student reflected on how she had overheard another claim just the day before that he could not refrain from using the word "gay" on a regular basis, and had not said anything to refute him -- until this assembly.

The assembly concluded with "I Wish - Reflections on SDLC" by Senior Victoria Ngo '12. 3 Amigos Poetry then took to the stage again to close the assembly, encouraging their fellow students to "make nonviolence the plan."

Clinton L. Carbon, Director of Multicultural Affairs commented afterwards "Dr. King's message can often seem distant and perhaps completed for today's young people. Revealing the beginnings of Dr.King's six principles of non-violence and putting them into a contemporary context helps to honor not only the work of Dr. King, but also Gandhi and those who have and continue to fight against injustice around the world. I am very proud of the inclusion of personal stories contributed and presented by our students, and how they see their dreams relating to the work and dreams of Dr. King. It was a powerful and timely program that speaks volumes about the voice and power of young people."

Participating students in the MLK Day Upper School assembly included: Eric Mourkakos, Misha Inniss-Thompson, Victoria Ngo, Rammy Elrafei, Austin James, Kylah Gonzalez, Dan Garcia, Alexa Colas, Michael Chen, Taryn Daniels, Amit Shah, Mackenzie O'Connor, Shahyan Rehman, and Avery Landau.