MLK Day at Westover: Empowering Voices & Celebrating Joy
Through the shared experiences of celebration and acknowledgement, Westover’s community engaged in intentional sessions and activities during this year’s MLK programming, capturing the goal Director of the Rasin Center Autumn Cloud-Ingram hoped for everyone: balance.
Westover community members took a pause from the typical academic day to immerse themselves in a day of programming dedicated to honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Friday, January 17. Through the shared experiences of celebration and acknowledgement, our community engaged in intentional sessions and activities to capture the goal Director of the Rasin Center Autumn Cloud-Ingram hoped for Westover’s community: balance.
“Our goal for the day was to balance the hard truths pertaining to inequities such as housing and healthcare with the joys of the African American community and other marginalized groups,” said Autumn. “Seeing the joy the community had while participating in the workshops, particularly in the workshops led by Black and Brown presenters was priceless.”
Rasin Center Representatives, better known on campus as “Rasin Reps,” shared their reflections during Assembly’s opening remarks that morning along with DEI Head of School Vivian L. ’25, Director of the Rasin Center Autumn Cloud Ingram, Head of School Polly Fredlund, and other faculty and staff. These community members opened the day with the intention of focusing on the work that MLK did during the Poor People's Campaign of 1968.
Reflecting on the Poor People’s Campaign with a modern and local lens, our community gathered in the Louise B. Dillingham Performing Arts Center theater to view the PBS documentary Fighting for Home: How Housing Policy Keeps Connecticut Segregated. By learning more about the housing crisis in Connecticut from the legal perspective and personal accounts of Connecticut residents, we could better understand the urgency for work to be done in towns and cities local to Connecticut.
To supplement the documentary, Westover welcomed activist Mark Colville to share the work of Rosette Neighborhood Village’s Amistad House in New Haven. The Amistad House serves as a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve unhoused individuals and families in New Haven. Today, they are working to transform Amistad House’s backyard into a micro-neighborhood to welcome “unhoused people into a supportive community, and [give] them a home.”
Throughout the afternoon, students, faculty, and staff attended their assigned sessions facilitated by students, faculty, and visiting guest speakers who are experts in their fields.
“Living in a society inundated with negative images of Black people it is a rarity that anyone, including our students, get to see aspects of Black culture in a positive light––let alone led by Black folks themselves,” said Autumn. “From seeing, hearing, and dancing to Harford's Proud ––which was a complete surprise for the community––to learning about Black curl patterns and care from Luvena Leslie and Susie Baez, and playing and learning about instruments from the African Diaspora with Mark Ingram, our community was able to see the entrepreneurship, creativity, and intellect of Black folks today. This was the most precious gift of the day.”
Most significantly, we are proud of our students who facilitated sessions on their own focused on historical inquiry and activity-based diversity work with our community. Zuri K. ’26 led a discussion-based session with History Department Head Dr. Hannah Higgin on the works of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, asking the room: “What have we been told?” Sissi Zhang ’26, Nicole Etchie ’26, and Vivian L. ’25 introduced DEI activities they learned from the 2024 NAIS Student Leadership in Diversity Conference in Denver, CO. Rasin Reps Chanel T. ’28, Cassie F. ’27, and Avery N. ’27 asked situational and subjective questions to community members, highlighting the beauty of diversity and engagement in civil discourse.
Other highlights from the afternoon sessions included students uncovering the impact of Henrietta Lacks’ and discussing how the ethics of science can be improved for the future, diving into gender identity work with Cadence Pentheny, and taking a pause to reflect through art in an identity-based community art project with Westover Art Teacher Sara Poskas in the painting studio, there was an abundance of knowledge being shared throughout our campus.
We are deeply appreciative to all those who came to Westover to share with our community what they are passionate about so that our students, faculty, and staff could expand their knowledge on a diverse range of topics and fields. Special thanks to Hartford’s Proud Drumline, Mark Colville, Cadence Pentheny, Luvena Leslie, Susie Baez, Darlene Kascak, Casey Parker, and Mark Ingram.
Learn more about the organizations our visiting guests own or a part of:
- Casey Parker - A Mother Level: Birth & Postpartum Doula Services
- Luvena Leslie and Susie Baez - The Curly Hair Salon; New Haven, CT
- Hartford’s Proud Drill, Drum, and Dance Corp.; Hartford, CT
- Mark Colville; The Rosette Village; New Haven, CT
- Cadence Pentheny - Triangle Community Center; Norwalk, CT
Be Boldly You
Westover School admits students of any race, color, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin, or disability to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. As a gender-diverse girls school, Westover welcomes applicants and students who are assigned female at birth and/or identify as girls. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational policies, admissions and financial aid policies, and athletic or other school-administered programs.