2014 Martin Luther King Week
Celebrating the Dream
The entire Christ School student body participates in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day each year by serving throughout the Asheville area for an entire week. This celebration has come a long way since its inception in 2011 thanks to the Christ School Community, our Director of Student Outreach Travis Harris, and our Asheville service organization partners. Once previously honored all on one day, Martin Luther King Day of Service has developed into a celebration spanning an entire week with guest speakers, special class lectures, and local service efforts.
The week will start with all students participating in the the MLK Day March in Downtown Asheville. Then, students will work with Asheville Greenworks, ABCCM, Brother Wolf, Western Carolina Rescue Ministries, March of Dimes, Meals on Wheels, and other local service organizations throughout the week. Students will also enjoy speeches from two prominent guests at Christ School: President of Hampden-Sydney College Dr. Chris Howard and Cheryl Johnson.
Guest Speakers
We have two prominent guest speakers educating students during this year's MLK Week:
Dr. Chris Howard is the President of Hampden-Sydney College and Chairman of the Impact Young Lives Foundation. He was previously Vice President for Strategic & Leadership Initiatives at the University of Oklahoma and a manager with General Electric’s elite Corporate Initiatives Group. A Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, he holds an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School, and is a Rhodes Scholar.
Cheryl Johnson
Cheryl Johnson was born in the Mississippi Delta when the southern United States were still in the throes of practicing apartheid. When Cheryl was 14, she was among the first African Americans to implement the Supreme Court’s ruling on Brown vs. the Board of Education which led the way to desegregate South Panola High school in Panola County Mississippi, 12 years after the Supreme Court ruling and under a court order from the U.S. Department of Justice.
She graduated from South Panola High in Batesville, Mississippi in 1969 and went on to attend Howard University for her undergraduate degree in Speech Pathology in Washington, D.C. and then California State University for her Masters in Public Administration. She has been a family counselor for adolescent girls who fled their home, and a Guardian Ad Litem representing abused and neglected children in court.
She will screen "40 Years Later: Now Can We Talk?" a documentary film project that explores the impact of racial integration in the Mississippi Delta through powerful and moving dialogue with black and white alumni from the class of 1969 as they recall and comment on memories of that time, from their very different racial positions and experiences.
2014 MLK Week Schedule
Monday - MLK March and Celebration. All students may participate in the march this year.
- 10:15 a.m. - Depart from Christ School to attend the march in Downtown Asheville
- 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. - MLK March and Celebration
- 1:00 p.m. - Students who attend the March will return to school no later than 1:00 p.m.
- All students who do not attend the march must follow the Monday Class schedule
- Class will resume after lunch on Monday for all the students who attended the March
- Regular Evening Study Hall
Tuesday - Dr. Howard speaks to the Christ School community in St. Joseph's Chapel
- 10:15 – 11:00 a.m. - Chapel
- Continue with Tuesday schedule after chapel
- Regular Evening Study Hall
Wednesday - Regular school day
- 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Dinner
- 8:00 – 9:30 p.m. Presentation and Movie with Cheryl Johnson (Pingree)
- (No Study Hall)
Thursday – Day of Service
- 8:00 – 8:40 a.m. Chapel Service with the Eucharist
- 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Day of Service
- Students will serve the Asheville community alongside Asheville Greenworks, ABCCM, Brother Wolf, Western Carolina Rescue Ministries, March of Dimes, and Meals on Wheels
- 1:00 – 2:45 p.m. Reflection time with Advisee Group
- 3:30 p.m. Sports Period
- Regular Evening Study Hall
Friday - Regular School Day
- Jonathan Morris senior speech introduced by Coach Harris
