Today, students celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. and his message of equality for all through songs, stories, and speeches.

The assembly began with a summary of MLK’s life and accomplishments followed by the wind ensemble’s  performance of Amazing Grace. A video of news footage from the Civil Rights Movement played in the background.

The theme for the presentation was a quote by Martin Luther King. The message was hand painted on a large banner behind the sophomore section. It read, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Following the speech was a video produced by students about the character of our student body. Many were interviewed about what set them apart from one another and what they felt about our school climate moving forward.

Justice Johnson spoke next about the acceptance he’s felt about his transition as a transgender teen. He spoke candidly of what it was like for him, the binder he purchased as a freshman and the suicide statistics of the LGBTQ community when acceptance is not the basis for these youth. Johnson said he, “dreams of worldwide acceptance of the LGBTQ community.” He strongly urged the audience to embrace those different from themselves and to treat all humans as equal.

Jessica Clipper sang the song Bright, followed by a speech made by Dr. David Thomas, the grandfather of a student Issy Koehler. Dr. Thomas witnessed the civil rights movement first hand from the steps of the nation’s capital. He talked about the scripted part of Dr. King’s speech and how he improvised the portion that begins with ‘I have a dream.’ He spoke about the struggles with race relations in our past and how they continue today.

Then, the GP choir sang “Like the Beat of a Drum”, followed by a speech by Mr. Joey Mutcheson. He spoke of his dream about living in a community that gives back. He left with a challenge to the student body to commit to a day of giving back  through volunteering each year of their high school career. If all of our student body volunteered for eight hours it would put over 55,000 hours of service back into our community.

The assembly closed by a performance done by Alaina Moretti. She delighted the audience with her song and piano performance, I Know Where We’ve Been.