Time with Tony - 1/16

 

On Monday, most schools in Wilmington will be closed, but Friends School of Wilmington will gather together as a community to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Brooklyn Arts Center. As a Friends school, this choice is deeply rooted in who we are and what we believe as a Quaker educational community.

Dr. King reminded the nation in 1947, in an essay titled “The Purpose of Education,” that education must be “intelligence plus character,” shaping hearts and minds for justice, compassion, and courage. By coming together on this day, we signal that it is not simply a long weekend, but a day with purpose, a time to learn from Dr. King’s example and to ask what his message requires of us now, in our classrooms, in the city of Wilmington, and in our own lives.

Quakers affirm that there is that of God in every person and seek to make schools places where equality, peace, integrity, community, and stewardship are lived every day. Dr. King’s vision of the “beloved community” closely echoes these testimonies: a world where each person’s dignity is honored and conflicts are approached with courage and nonviolence. By choosing to be in school on this day, we make a clear statement that our mission is to form young people who will help build that community.

On Monday, our students will sing, reflect, encounter, and interact with Dr. King’s words, and engage in age-appropriate conversations and learning experiences connected to service and justice. In doing so, we are telling them that their education is about more than grades and tests, it is about learning to see the Light in others, to speak up when they encounter injustice, to listen with intention, and to imagine a world made more whole by their choices. We are also signaling to the City of Wilmington that FSW understands this day as a call to action, a time to examine our hearts, our school culture, and the ways we show up in our broader community.

There will be joy on this day. Joy in the songs, stories, recall, and sense of shared purpose, but also a solemn commitment. We honor Dr. King not as an historic figure, but as a companion in ongoing work, confronting racism, nurturing empathy, and building relationships across all of our differences. Gathering as a school community on this day is one way we teach our students that truly honoring Dr. King means living differently, not only remembering differently.

Thank you for being part of a school that chooses formation over convenience, community over simple closure, and courageous remembrance over quiet observance. May our time together on Monday deepen our gratitude for Dr. King’s life, sharpen our sense of responsibility, and renew our hope that, together, we can move closer to the just and peaceful world he envisioned.