One of the most important assemblies of the year is the Martin Luther King Jr. Assembly.
The assembly is put together by the Black Student Union and those on DISC, the Diversity and Inclusion Student Council. They plan the whole assembly from the start of October until the start of break, having 5 lunch meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The DEI Director, Ms. Montez, finds this assembly to be important in the Jesuit community as she finds it to be a great way for Jesuit to live out its mission.
“One of the five grad at grad qualities that we hope that you all have when you graduate, is being committed to justice. And so when we look at US history, the person who stands out the most for their work of justice, their civil disobedience, their non violence, it’s, of course, Martin Luther King, Jr,” she said.
Montez also finds the assembly to be a great opportunity for BSU.
“This is a really great way for our Black Student Union to get a chance at the mic really and to amplify what are current issues that we see in our communities that maybe need to be brought to the forefront,” she said.
Senior Jada Williams is one of the assembly’s lead organizers and a large part of BSU. She and the other organizers chose to focus on the resilience of the Black community throughout history during the assembly.
“It’s about resilience and kind of bringing more joy to our past, instead of just focusing on the dark and a focus on how we got out of it,” Jada said.
Montez really hopes students this year can remember the key quote from the Our God is Marching on speech “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” She knows that change can be hard to see, but she wants the community to realize how far we have come since MLK, and how we always need to be moving toward inclusion.
The Martin Luther King Jr Assembly is so much more than just a celebration of all he did, it’s a way for Jesuit to grow closer with the community inside and outside of Jesuit.
“I love seeing our students come together for something powerful, and it’s grown. This might be the third year we’ve invited other Black Student Unions from other schools. It’s been really powerful to see some of the same kids come back every year and get to know our students, and we do different activities with them. I just love the community that it brings with us that day,” Montez said.
The MLK Assembly has become a special tradition at Jesuit and has many deeper meanings for students to take with them as they live out their lives.
“I think the biggest takeaway that I hope people get is that we are resilient people, and we’re still here. We’re still fighting, there’s still stuff that needs to happen, but we’re still here. We’re living together, and we’ve been through so much, and you can’t stop [us],” Jada said.
Jada is happy to have the opportunity to teach others about this important time in history.
“I think this day is important for me, because I get to, at Jesuit, be a part in educating other people about what happened, about the sore parts of our history that need to be talked about in order to be healed, and also contribute to the Jesuit culture and help us be more inclusive,” Jada said.
The MLK Assembly is a huge part of Jesuit’s culture, highlighting voices around campus and moving toward justice.
