To honor the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK), the Sacred Heart Greenwich community gathered January 12 for the annual MLK Day prayer service. The Vision Steppers and Gospel Knights choir captivated the audience with their performances, and students provided insightful reflections to actively communicate the legacy of Dr. King’s work. Ms. Candice Willie-Lawes, Assistant Head of Middle School for Student Life, joined with juniors Eva Wilkerson and Jadamarie Henry, freshman Catherine Ononye, and eighth grader Ariel Duncan to share an original poem. Their reflections demonstrated the diversity within the Black community as they conveyed their messages through the line, “when you see me, do you see me.”
On the third Monday of January, the United States (US) observes MLK Day, a federal holiday aiming to commemorate the achievements of Dr. King on or around his birthday, January 15. The US Congress established the holiday in 1986, 18 years after Dr. King’s assassination, according to britannica.com. Sacred Heart annually holds an all-school prayer service in celebration of Dr. King’s life, to advocate for his beliefs and honor his legacy.
The Vision Steppers, a female step team from the Immaculate Conception School in South Bronx, New York, performed at the prayer service, showcasing messages of praise, justice, and hope. Founded over 21 years ago by Mr. Dabe James, the Steppers compete in competitions in cities all around the country and have won numerous awards over the past few years, according to visionsteppers.org. The Gospel Knights, from Concordia College in Bronxville, New York, also incorporated these themes into songs they performed together with the Madrigals.
Eva, Jadamarie, Catherine, Ariel, and Ms. Willie-Lawes contributed to this year’s prayer service by reading personal reflections in the form of a poem. Each participant read a verse speaking about her personal life, and how she is a unique member of the Black community, using the refrain “see me” to convey her message. In Catherine’s reflection, she highlighted the diversity in the Black population and how her role as a Sacred Heart student has permitted her to convey this message.
“I think that the poem was important because the diversity within the Black community is not often shared in the media, and people are only shown one small subgroup,” Catherine said. “We are not a box checked that says African-American; everyone within the Black community has a different background and heritage that is unique to them. I feel that the poem was a great way to widen the perspectives held within the Sacred Heart community.”
In her section of the poem, Jadamarie focused on unique aspects about herself and characteristics that define who she is distinctly from other members of the Black community. She hoped that conveying this message to the school community on a more personal level would create a lasting impact. Jadamarie commented on how the poem allowed the students who contributed to emulate the values of Sacred Heart’s Goal Four, “the building of community as a Christian value.”
“This really connects to Goal Four because of the power of hearing students and teachers you see every day speaking directly to you, such as our peers who we communicate with every day, our friends, our siblings, or our teammates instead of having a speaker come in,” Jadamarie said. “When it comes from someone you know, I think it’s a lot more powerful and it causes you to tune in more and pay attention more, and people will actually try to understand and learn from it.”
Featured Image by Juliet Lannamann ’26
