WEST CHESTER

MLK Day has new schedule in West Chester

Sue Kiesewetter
Enquirer Contributor
Tina Cartwright is one of several marchers who participated in last year's Walk for Unity in the Community as part of the Martin Luther King Day observance in West Chester and Liberty townships. She is expected to walk again this year.

WEST CHESTER – Now in its 18th year, the Martin Luther King observance on Monday in West Chester and Liberty townships is undergoing a change that consolidates all activities into the afternoon.

“We’re doing things just a little bit differently this year," Webster said. “We’re having the program immediately following the lunch after the march instead of in the evening."

That change was prompted by the growing numbers of marchers, but declining number of people – especially children – attending the evening program, she said.

“The changes are in response to the feedback we’ve been getting,” Webster said. “After 17 years we’re changing things up a bit.”

The annual march will begin at noon at the clock tower at The Square at Union Centre. From there marchers will proceed down Centre Pointe Drive to Union Centre Boulevard and back up West Chester Road to the Lakota West High School cafeteria.

West Chester Township Police Chief Joel Herzog will lead the march. Members of the Community Choir will be strategically placed at the beginning, middle and end of the parade of 200 or more marchers.

Choir members lead marchers in the singing of “We Shall Overcome” during the march, Webster said.

At the 1 p.m. program Lakota consultant Dr. Monique Johnson will talk briefly about Dr. King’s Beloved Community, explaining what it is and then lead a discussion with Lakota’s diversity coordinator Aisha Moore, among those present.

“In their entries a lot of kids suggested conversation. We’re going to put into practice what they thought. There will be specific questions," Webster said.

“Getting to know each other better is the first step in Beloved Community. It’s how barriers break down – when we see each other as individuals.”

Winners of the student contest will share their ideas on incorporating the ideals of Beloved Community and the Community Choir will lead those in attendance in song.

Information: www.livethedreamwcl.weebly.com/

Winners in the Martin Luther King Day student contest, their presentation, grade and school are:

  • Grand Prize: Gabrielle Mathis; Talk, Build, Change, Thrive; seventh grade, Hopewell Junior School
  • Early Childhood: Isheni Peiris, We Love Our Community, first grade, Creekside Early Childhood Center
  • Elementary: Bonny Kirkmeyer, Making a Cultural Community Through Books, third grade, Endeavor Elementary School
  • Junior High: Cailey Duckworth, Change: It Starts With You, eighth grade, Hopewell Junior School
  • Junior High English as a Second Language: Raissa Ndaya; Interview Someone With a Different Background, culture, Heritage, Language, or Other Demographics from Your Own; eighth grade, Hopewell Junior School
  • High School: Desiree Long, Implementing the Beloved Community, ninth grade, Lakota East Freshman School
  • High School ESL: Jazmyn Williams, Asking My Grandpa, ninth grade, Lakota East Freshman School