Chapel Hill High School students participated in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Life and Legacy Celebration on January 19 in the Carrboro Century Center, coming together to honor King and celebrate his accomplishments.
The Carrboro Youth Advisory Board, Carrboro Youth Council and Chapel Hill-Carrboro National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Youth Council planned and led the event.
The event featured performances by the Ebony Dancers, a mime performance by Tiffany Ferrell, songs from Alicea Davis and a step performance by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Mu Zeta Chapter at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as speeches from community leaders about King and social inequality and a live reading of “I Have a Dream” by local children.
“This event was first and foremost for the community, and so everything we did, be it choosing the speaker, or the art, reflected that,” senior and Carrboro Youth Council member Erin Timmins said.
Senior Zara Waheed, a member of the Carrboro Youth Advisory Board, helped plan the celebration and co-emceed with Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP Youth Council Advisor Lorie Clark.
“Planning began about a year ago. This year, we started putting [our ideas] in action,” Waheed said. “It took a long time, and there was certainly a lot of work involved, but I think it turned out really well, and it was definitely worth it.”
Carrboro Recreation Supervisor Jeremy Poythress attended the joint meetings between the youth groups, encouraging them to “develop their ideas and get creative” and dealt with logistics and contacting performers.
“It was very gratifying and impressive to see all of the students’ hard work pay off and manifest itself in such a great, fun event,” Poythress said. “I was really happy with the outcome and stunned due to all of this work coming from full-time students who are already involved in other extracurricular activities.”
At the event, the new director for equity and inclusion for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, Lee Williams, spoke about King as a dreamer and an activist, and talked about the disparity between suspension rates for white students and students of color in the district.
“This was my first time doing anything like this, and it was such a good experience,” Waheed said. “It taught me a lot about planning, relying on other people and teamwork.”
