Individuals and Community through the Lens of the Work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
You may know that the story of the first one hundred years of The Cambridge School of Weston, 1886 – 1986, was captured in print by former teacher and administrator, George St. John Jr. in 1986, in a book published by Windflower Press in Cambridge, MA. Its title, Individuals and Community, highlights an important institutional tension that exists here at CSW — the healthy tension between serving the individual, while also paying attention to our highly developed, mindful community. This tension of individual versus community is real and always worth attending to, perhaps especially here in the Western, “free” world.
This past Monday in assembly, as an insightful introduction to honoring the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., several students and teachers shared a series of MLK quotations, and challenged us to think about what action we might take to honor King’s important work, and ensure that his message remains an important part of our lives, lives that we here at CSW have chosen to devote to social change, community-improvement, and diversity and inclusion work.
What follows are several of these challenges and thought-provoking questions prompted by the wisdom of MLK. Please feel free to use these concepts as part of your own conversations at home.
Read by Haiqi Li ’21:
“We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate. The broad education will, therefore, transmit to one not only the accumulated knowledge of the race but also the accumulated experience of social living.”
— MLK in 1947 in a Morehouse College paper.
— MLK in 1947 in a Morehouse College paper.
Educating oneself in a holistic way is key in working towards meaningful change. Building Intelligence is important, but without the work of building a moral compass, empathy, and awareness, we cannot fulfill our full potential. How do we do that at CSW? How can we improve upon that moving forward?
Read by William Feng ’20:
“Hate is always tragic. It is as injurious to the hater as it is to the hated. It distorts the personality and scars the soul… As a race we must work passionately and unrelentingly for first-class citizenship, but we must never use second-class methods to gain it. If this happens, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and our chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos.”
— MLK in 1962, Washington, D.C
How can we find ways to disagree and subdue hate? Can our community function in a world where we know hate is prevalent and be a beacon for how individuals work together, even when ideology is not aligned?
Read by Jazzleigh Bailey ’19
“I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain, and I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. So I’m happy tonight. I’m not fearing any man.”
— MLK, Memphis, April 3, 1968, the night before his death.
— MLK, Memphis, April 3, 1968, the night before his death.
Can we be activists without sacrifice? What are we willing to give up to create meaningful change? Our comfort? Our security? Our power? Our safety? Are we willing to have proximity to issues, to face them directly even if they do not directly affect us as individuals?
The presenters in assembly asked us to take some time, today, tomorrow and during the days ahead, to reflect on these statements and questions, to make sure we hear the words, and pull them within us — make them part of us.
How do we find solutions to problems, together? What role does direct action versus discussion and talking together play? In the famous words of MLK’s final address to the SCLC in 1968: Where do we go from here? King was concerned about a better world, justice, brotherhood and truth—concerns that we can all share, regardless of our politics.
The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive high school for day and boarding students in grades 9–12 and PG. CSW's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.