By Sushant Kunwar and Grahm Reynolds
Branford High School has a longstanding history celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. and his achievements. On the morning of Martin Luther King Day – Monday, Jan. 18 – Branford High School will host the breakfast as usual but with a virtual twist. To top it off, BHS will have an amazing keynote speaker who’s message has many parallels to Martin Luther King Jr’s.
In other years, the breakfast happens in the BHS commons, with over 300 participants. The BHS culinary department and the Branford Rotary Club serve breakfast, along with hosting a local guest speaker. Due to safety concerns, this year’s breakfast will be held virtually, through Zoom. The event’s virtual nature allows for it to be more accessible and on a larger scale than before.
The keynote speaker for the MLK Day breakfast this year will be Jane Elliot. She conducted the famous Brown eyes/Blue Eyes experiment. This experiment, conducted in 1968, produced a powerful message to a divided America. “Never has Jane Elliott’s powerful ‘We are one race’ message been more needed than now,“ said Mindy Baker, event organizer and BHS culinary teacher.
Elliot first conducted her experiment on April 5th, 1968, a day after MLK was assassinated.
In her classroom, she was able to tackle racism head on and spread her message of unity. This message strikes just as hard in today’s world as it did half a century ago. Americans are still fighting against the same injustices that the Civil Rights Movement fought Against almost 50 years ago.
“The current political and social situations of the past year have caused many BHS students and teachers to reflect on the contributions of their own thoughts and actions/ inaction,” Baker said. “Conversations about race are difficult to have, but are necessary in order for progress to be made.”
The event takes place on January 18 at 8 a.m. Tickets cost $15 and all profits go to local charities. Tickets to the event can be bought here.
Awesome job! Thanks for getting the word out!