Latin School of Chicago

up front MLK Week 2010: A Celebration of Our Many Selves This January in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Latin spent a week examining and celebrating the unique qualities and diverse identities within our school community. To kick off the week, Latin students, families, faculty and staff participated in the school's ninth annual Day of Service at Uptown Baptist soup kitchen on Martin Luther King Day. Nearly 40 volunteers turned out to prepare and serve dinner for about 500 guests of the soup kitchen. Once again, the day was an exuberant celebration of Dr. King's legacy, with much kitchen and dining room camaraderie as well as a lively performance by Latin's Gospel Choir. The momentum continued over the following days with further reflection about Dr. King's lessons through a series of discussions, workshops, special visitors, and the school's first multicultural fair. Author, artist, filmmaker and educator Kip Fulbeck returned to Latin for the second year to share his views about identity and tolerance. Fulbeck, who is of mixed race, was born at a time when his parents couldn't legally marry in some states. During his presentations, he called on his audiences to question accepted images and stereotypes and advised them not to "be afraid to question what you see. Be active." With the theme "Our Many Selves," Latin's first multicultural fair was a true collaboration among students, faculty and staff in all three divisions. 4 Latin Magazine Through classroom exhibits that students had been developing throughout the year, theater productions, poetry performances and art projects, children and adults alike explored identity. "Our goal was to go beyond the usual multicultural fair of exotic food booths," says Esther Pandian-Riske, dean of multicultural and community affairs, who headed the effort. "We wanted this to be a community-wide project that was curriculum-based and included everyone's voices. It was an opportunity for us to look at ourselves, our identities, and get to know one another better." From the youngest students, who worked on selfportraits and family collages, to middle schoolers, who created an art project called "A Place at the Table for All" that focused on cultural and ethnic differences, to high school students, who did in-depth research on subjects such as forging identity and the history of the Civil Rights Movement, thought- and discussion-provoking exhibits were on display throughout the school. Among the highlights of the fair were painted stained-glass windows depicting Dr. King's legacy that more than two dozen teachers and students worked on together. "One of the most moving experiences of the week was walking through the hallways at school at eight o'clock at night and seeing students and teachers completing their windows," says Pandian-Riske. "It was a moment that truly showed us working together in a positive way as a community, ensuring the success of this endeavor we were all passionate about."

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