For some, last Monday was just another day off. But for the sold-out crowd at SOPAC, it was a day to remember the lessons and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Marshall School PTA organized a showing of the short film, “Our Friend, Martin,” and opened tickets up to the entire Maplewood-South Orange community.
Parents and kids packed SOPAC’s main theater to watch the hour-long movie that combined modern animation with historical documentary footage of some of the events in Dr King’s life. The film drew kids in with its main character, a young African-American boy named Miles who is more interested in baseball than history. After taking a trip to Dr King’s boyhood home, Miles and his white pal, Randy, travel through time to different events in Dr King’s life to see firsthand the challenges he faced and the bravery he displayed to fight for equal rights for all people.
Miles and Randy are shocked at their first experience with segregation and begin to realize the rights they take for granted. They get to see Dr. King through the bus boycott, the Birmingham riots, and the “I Have a Dream” speech, coming to care about him as a real person, not just an historical figure.
The film — released in 1999 — has an all-star cast of voices, including Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett, Susan Sarandon and James Earl Jones.
Before the movie, South Orange Middle School health and physical education teacher Johanna Wright introduced brief remarks by Lucy Schmitz, a junior at Columbia High School, who spoke about her experience as a former president of the MLK club at South Orange Middle School. Another former student of Ms. Wright’s, Dominique Swanson, now a senior at Newark Tech High School, performed classical ballet as her way of remembering Dr. King.
Wright said she was glad to be a part of the event.
“It was an awesome program. The kids were wonderful and totally engaged in the movie. You could see that from the questions they asked afterwards.”
Following the film, SOMS sixth grader and MLK club member Cosimo Fabrizio spoke about how Dr. King’s message of peace in the face of violence has inspired him in tough times. “It’s our job to keep Dr. King’s words and actions in our minds and hearts. He will never be forgotten.”
Jefferson parent Jennifer Culhane brought her third grade twins to the film and said it sparked interesting discussions about equality. “I had tears in my eyes during the movie and during parts of the presentations, both for the message and the fact that we live in a town that values these kinds of events. It was great.“
Marshall and Maplewood Middle School parent Lori Brown said she attended the event because she wanted her children to understand the importance of honoring Dr. King's legacy of equality for all people.
“The movie reminded me that I should value the past, present and future and make sure my children place a high value on it as well, all year long and not just on MLK Jr. day," said Brown. "We need to remind our children everyday how great they are and encourage them to be kind and helpful to everyone and not be afraid to stand up for things that are important to them."
