I often refer to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr as an exemplar of what it means to be a modern era Brave Scholar. He possessed an indomitable spirit and a brilliant mind. His resilience was, in my opinion, articulated best when speaking publicly about civil rights and social justice.
When I was attending graduate school, I was part of an organization called The New DEEL. It was a play on words from when FDR was president with his social contract; The New DEAL. As an educator, I subscribe to the New DEEL philosophy of being a New Democratic Ethical Education Leader. This means I pledged that my leadership style would be inclusive of all my constituents. I would abide by the ethics of care and honor, I would ascribe to best practice as an educator, and I would lead by this example. At New DEEL meetings we would often reflect on different exemplars of New DEEL values. We studied the work and careers of people like Eleanor Roosevelt, John Dewey, Ella Flag Young, Abraham Lincoln, and others.
In 2007, one of our after school projects connected the social justice issues and involved an essay contest quoting speeches from Dr. Martin Luther King. The School District of Philadelphia conducted an essay contest and it was judged by a group of retired federal executives. The approximately 20 winning essays were shared with me. My friends at Fleisher Art Memorial then connected me with a teaching artist from a local university and we collaborated with the students attending afterschool to create a 4’ x 5’ painting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We call the piece “Martin’s Words” (see below).
Serendipitously, when Barack Obama won the presidency there was a big event at Temple University. The event was held on MLK day in 2008 and “Martin’s Words” was dedicated to this historical event. Today, the painting sits in my office as I continually look for an appropriate wall to hang it on.
