Applause goes out to all 439 Blue Jays who willingly participated in the 27TH annual Peace Walk on Martin Luther King Day, January 16.
Every student who walked should be proud of their participation in a cherished community event that is nearly three decades old. The 10 percent grade improvement on all final exams given to any student who attended definitely provided additional incentive to attend, but not all who walked did so simply for the grade boost.
In all, an estimated 5,000 community members paid tribute to Dr. King’s legacy of civil rights and non-violent protests by participating in the walk from Hope United Methodist Church to the Southfield Pavilion.
The gratification that comes from paying homage to those who made our lives as we know it possible is immense and makes Black History Month a time for appreciation, reflection, and internal progression.
Of course, there probably were some Blue Jays who walked just for that grade boost. If that’s the case, it’s time for them to re-think how their life would be if it were not for those who walked before them.
It was cold on January 19, and it would have been nice to sleep in on a no-school Monday. But we will all sleep much, much better from this day forward knowing that there is a greater peace in our world because of principled people like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
-Jonathan Moore