MLK Teach-In

CHS has long honored MLK Day not as a vacation but as an opportunity to serve and reflect. In some years, we partner with organizations like Feeding America or the Rescue Mission, and in some years we honor the day with special topic teach-ins about subjects having to do with the Civil Rights Movement and with the expansion of democracy and political advocacy. This year, we focused on the history of Kingian nonviolent civil disobedience, with a special focus on King’s colleague James Lawson, the person arguably most responsible for formalizing training and technique for S.N.C.C. and other groups in the mid-1960’s. After an initial introduction, students divided into multi-age groups to think about causes they most wanted to address locally, and thought about how to employ Lawson’s teachings towards those ends. It was gratifying to see their level of investment and cooperation.