By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
The John Witherspoon Middle School celebrated the life, legacy and leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 12 with a special assembly that has become a long-standing tradition at the school.
The assembly featured former Princeton mayors Mildred Trotman and Michele Tuck-Ponder and Mayor Yina Moore, performances by the speech choir and the school’s choir as well as a dance selection. Eighth graders Spencer Patten and Sumaiyya Stephens emceed the event for the audience.
”The students of John Witherspoon work for several weeks in addition to their regular class work to make the presentation a truly student led and student driven performance,” said principal Jason Burr.
The speech choir inspired students and faculty by performing a dramatic rendering of Mr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. The audience heard traditional American gospel music as eighth grader Gabe Greenwood led the choir in “Oh Happy Day.”
Guest speakers Ms. Trotman, Ms. Tuck-Ponder and Ms. Moore followed in the footsteps of last year’s guest speaker, Shirley Satterfield, who reflected on being a young person influenced by Dr. King’s messages of perseverance.
The trio spoke to attendees about Dr. King’s goodness and his ability to inspire the best in each of them. All three, who have held the torch of mayor at some point in time, told students they hoped each of them would strive to become positive leaders in whatever they chose to do in life.
They defined a “leader” as a person who accepts leadership roles whenever and wherever they may arise.
Even though the assembly was full of prominent speakers and coordinated by sixth grade counselor Evelyn Counts and school para-professional Ashante Thompson, it was the students who stole the show.
”What I loved the most was that the performances were student led and student driven the fact that the students took on the responsibility of making the show great,” said Mr. Burr. “They were able to feature talents that may not normally be able to show in the classroom.”
