On Monday January 17, the high school, along with the rest of the country, celebrated Martin Luther King Jr Day. In his honor, nine different clubs, National Art Honors Society, FHS Cares, National Honors Society, Generations, Boys and Girls Club, Be Homeful, Real Talk, Lord Lovers, and InterAct collaborated to organize a Literacy Kit Drive and a Winter Needs Drive.

The Literacy Kit Drive took place on January 13 and 14 and was a partnership with United Way. Students and staff donated books that promoted themes of equality, diversity, and inclusion. Next, they worked together to make the literacy kits using crafts, finger reading puppets, and reading tip sheets. The kits are going to be brought to CT Correctional Facilities where they will support the Fatherhood and Motherhood programs. Along with all nine clubs that had a hand in organizing this, students and staff also worked with service clubs in Iving A Robbins (IAR) to produce the kits.

“Making crafts for the literacy kits was a unique and rewarding experience because it gave me the opportunity to read the powerful books and make a relevant craft. I also enjoyed working with various service clubs to contribute to the Literacy Kit Drive,” junior InterAct social chair Sydney Bigelow said.

The organization the clubs partnered with, United Way, continues to offer numerous services to people in addition to the literacy kits, to honor Martin Luther King Jr. They offered two interactive workshops, both an hour and a half long, to support people through any issues they might be facing during this time. They called it “Don’t Walk Alone” as they made their goal to work together to promote hope and healing.

“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that ‘we cannot walk alone’ in these times of stress, grief and uncertainty,” United Way wrote on their website.

Another drive the school participated in was a Winter Needs Drive organized by the Lord Lovers club. On January 19-21, students and staff donated hats, gloves, scarves, and socks to provide winter necessities for those in need. This drive was a partnership with Mercy housing and Shelter Corporation in Hartford.

Every year Martin Luther King Jr day is celebrated on the third Monday of January, a national holiday that was passed in congress in 1986. The African American activist is considered to be one of the most influential civil rights leaders as he played huge role in passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of
1965, both of which helped make steps towards breaking the barriers of racial discrimination. Many across the country celebrate with marches, parades, and speeches, while the high school did their own celebration by organizing drives and making donations to help others in his honor.

“I think people should continue to celebrate MLK day because it has significance to so many people, and symbol-
izes the amount of progress we’ve made in this country in terms of equality for Black people. And in these turbulent times we’re living in, we all can’t lose sight of that,” junior President of Black Student Union Duke Addy said.

The work of students helping others, spreading kindness, and inclusion, will always be a big part of MLK Day, continuing into February, which is observed as Black History Month.