Manhattan Country School MLK March 2023: The Power of Awareness

For the first time since 2020, the entire MCS community gathered on MLK Day to support our 8th graders at our 35th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative March. It was such a powerful experience to join nearly 300 students, families, and alumni as we marched throughout the city, sang freedom songs, and listened to the students’ inspirational speeches. At this year’s march, titled The Power of Awareness: A March for Justice and Change, the 8th graders spoke passionately about issues like disinformation in social media, voter disenfranchisement, police brutality, hate speech, climate change, and access to mental health resources. 

 

We were thrilled to be joined at the march by NBC New York, who featured Manhattan Country School on local news! Click this link or click on the video above to watch the segment. 

 

We are grateful to our entire community for their outpouring of support at the march. Special thanks to Upper School English teacher, Tom Grattan, for spending several weeks planning the event and helping students with their speeches, the Parents Association for coordinating volunteers for the event, and our 6th grade parents and caregivers for directing traffic, leading us in singing, and serving hot cocoa and brownies to close the day. Lastly, thanks to MCS parents Joy Davis-Fair and Tony Fair for helping to get NBC to report on the march and opening up the school store so folks could buy some MCS swag!

 

The Annual MLK March is one of MCS’s most cherished traditions. We were all overjoyed to celebrate this special day for our 8th graders and community! Read the speeches here!