“Is he really black?” a girl says when a discussion of racial diversity at Tahoma comes up. “Wow I guess he is. I never really notice color. People are just people to me.”

It has been just over forty years since Martin Luther King Jr. led the civil rights movement, crying out for equal rights for all, and if Martin could hear those words today he would be proud that a little piece of his dream has and still is coming true.

With Martin Luther King Day on January 17, people all over celebrated the legacy he has left and will leave among generations and those to come. However with every year that passes and the heat of the civil rights movement grows further and further away and many start to think of Martin Luther King Day as a “day off” rather than a “day on.”

During assembles many students would rather plan their three day weekend than reflect on why they have it.

“Last years assembly was incredibly disrespectful. Many students just talked through it and what Mr. Davis had to say was really interesting and important.” Mrs. Agnew an English teacher at Tahoma said about last years MLK assembly.

This year at Tahoma a new approach was taken to remembering the man Martin Luther King Jr. was and his legacy to humanity. A walk through of exhibits starting sharing all that the civil rights movement entailed was set up in hopes that the struggle and progress made in the last forty to fifty years would be better understood and appreciated.



Monologues, poetry, and slide shows all helped to tell the tales of Martin Luther King Jr.’s time.

Carla Hayden spoke as though she was Rosa Parks. Telling the story of the day she refused to give up her seat. As her story comes to an end she asks in amazement, “Who knew little things could make a big change?”

As students entered into a dark room John Lennon’s, “Imagine” played in the back. Once everyone had settled in picture after picture of the struggles for equality and acceptance faced by many appeared on the screen. The entire room fell silent and looks of horror and amazement became evident on the faces of the students. There was no other place to look or a friend to turn a talk to, for once the images and sounds were the only things that encompassed the students.

Everyday issues of differences come up. And many times it is easy to look the other way when it doesn’t directly affect us. However with the new approach this year many students took to displaying the dream of Martin Luther King Jr., it is a little bit easier to imagine what it could be like had those fateful events not taken place.

Throughout the entire presentation a recurring question was asked, “Are you willing to do the little things that make a big difference?” The students that helped put that presentation together definitely were…are you?