The Art of "Oughtness"
David Wirtschafter, Rabbi-in-Residence
Forty-five years have passed since Dr. King gave this powerful address in Oslo, Norway. Almost half a century later we have once again sent the best orator of our day to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Only this time the African-American we sent has a degree in law not theology, and he leads a nation not a movement. So much has changed in forty-five years. But we still have our “Eyes on the Prize.” This year’s MLK Day activities at HMJDS celebrated the values of diversity, tolerance, peace, justice and love that form the moral fabric of what we ought to be.
At our opening assembly in the morning our students shared songs, poems, speeches and artwork. Original haikus reflected King’s emphasis on the power of words. Melodies like Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu (There Will Yet Be Peace Among Us), with its use of both Hebrew and Arabic, was emblematic of his insistence on coexistence even in the midst of crisis. Issues that concerned King deeply—including poverty, the environment, health care, education, and an end to war—were at the heart of our students’ personal “I Have a Dream” essays. The contributions of our students were book-ended by opening remarks and a parting benediction from Pastor Carl Darrisaw of the Macedonian Evangelical Baptist Church of St. Louis Park. Pastor Darrisaw called upon us to honor our past and our common religious principles by continuing to work for the ideals for which Dr. King sacrificed his life.
After the assembly was over we divided by grade levels to take on a wide array of projects and activities. Students made signs and went on mini-“marches” in the hallways. Others assembled collages culled from famous pictures of Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and other civil rights activists. Some rotations involved films, storytelling, and music. Mrs. Seigel, along with Stacy Pinck, Sara Bernstein, and classroom teachers helped students paint this year’s “Color Project” banners, a program sponsored by Tolerance Minnesota, a division of the Jewish Community Relations Council.
By the mid-afternoon we gathered together again in the auditorium for two performances—one for first through fourth graders, the other for grades 5 through 8—of “Moving The Dream Forward” with T. Mychael Rambo. Many of you might be familiar with Mr. Rambo from his work at the Guthrie, where he recently performed in Tony Kushner’s Civil Rights era musical, Caroline, or Change. In addition to excerpts from Dr. King’s speeches, this one-man show offered poetry from Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou, historic spiritual,s and opportunities for students to ask questions and offer their own ideas.
Thank you to Lisa Bottolene, Helen Seigel, Maia Poling, and Sara Bernstein, for their work on the Diversity Committee to coordinate this school-wide effort. We greatly appreciate the volunteer efforts of parent volunteers and professional staff in making the day run so smoothly. Finally, we especially want to acknowledge the generosity of Temple Israel and the Jewish Community Relations Council for helping us to bring these two wonderful performances of “Moving The Dream Forward” to our students.
While we still have a long, long way to go before realizing Dr. King’s vision of the world, we can take a measure of comfort in the thought that his story and the things he fought for are an essential part of our children’s education. As King taught in Oslo, we should remain dissatisfied with the inequalities and injustice of what is. Yet, forty-five years later, with our first African American President and second African-American Nobel Peace Prize winner, we are reminded of what truly is possible when we remember the “oughtness” of how things should be.
Shabbat Shalom,
