In remembrance of a civil rights hero, Millard West High School will be closed on Jan. 18th, 2021. This federal holiday honors activist Martin Luther King Jr. whose accomplishments continue to inspire future generations today.
MLK was a civil disobedience leader and is well-known for his historic march from Selma to Montgomery after the events of Bloody Sunday. It gained national attention and highlighted racial inequality. King never gave up the fight despite being jailed, his house bombed, and threats to his life. He wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” an inspirational writing about civil disobedience and furthering African American equality. “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws,” King Jr. once said. The minister put into practice what he preached. He is famous for leading his peaceful march on Washington, D.C. He delivered his speech, “I Have a Dream,” with over 250,000 people in attendance. King, 35, became the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his civil rights activism. In 1968, King was tragically assassinated outside his hotel room. His legacy, though, lives on. King once wrote, “darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
