Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

CWA leaders share how students and employees will celebrate the legacy of Dr. King.

Dear Charles Wright Students and Families,

On Monday we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy, including his accomplishments and beliefs in the area of civil rights, highlighting the use of nonviolence to promote change and calls people into public service.

On Monday at the City of Tacoma Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration, J’Nai Bridges ’05 will receive special recognition by the Mayor. To make plans to attend, or to watch the celebration online, visit the City of Tacoma website.

On Wednesday, all students and employees will join together to celebrate Dr. King at an all-school assembly with guest speaker Kwabi Amoah-Forson from The Peace Bus.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is also known as a Day of Service and many take the opportunity to honor Dr. King’s memory by giving back and participating in service opportunities. To promote this day of service and community building we are sharing opportunities in the South Sound community to encourage students and families to opt in to this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

  • The whole family can participate in Metro Parks MLK Day of Service at Point Defiance Park to remove invasive Scotch broom and other unwanted weeds to help make room for native plants to grow.
  • In Lacey, families can participate in restoration activities at Woodland Creek Community Park put on by the Stream Team.
  • The Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way welcomes volunteers ages 10 and older to help maintain the free-admission bonsai open-air museum.

This weekend we will be raising the Pan African flag in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It will fly proudly for the rest of January and in February in commemoration of Black History Month.

Our Inclusion Statement calls us to make institutional decisions and commit to action as we strive to become a community where every member feels seen, valued, and heard. Charles Wright Academy is beginning a practice of flying the Pan African Flag every February in support of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Pan African flag, created in 1920, consists of three equal horizontal bands of red, black, and green. Red represents the blood that unites all people of African ancestry, black is for the people, and green is a symbol of the abundant and vibrant natural wealth of Africa, the Motherland. It is both a symbol of the progress made and a reminder of the work ahead of us to achieve equity.

To learn more, please check out the resources below:

With gratitude,

Susan Rice, Head of School
Denise Williams, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
Nikki Fastlee, MS Service Learning Coordinator

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