Breck’s MLK symposium day took place the Wednesday after MLK day this year, and featured many different speakers and artists covering a wide range of topics. The MLK symposium is an annual tradition at Breck where the whole day is dedicated to classes, music, and art honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. 

The day started off with All School Chapel featuring music and dancing from the South African music group 29:11 International Exchange. They brought a lot of energy and talent to the chapel and student responded enthusiastically. 29:11 did such a good job of engaging everyone, inviting people to sing along and even join them on stage, and by the end of their performance, there were quite a few Breck students who had joined in the dancing..

After lunch, Breck alum Mayyadda performed a collection of her songs. She captivated the audience in her performance by having people sing along and even take over parts of the chorus in some of her songs. Her songs were generally uplifting; students responded with a great deal of enthusiasm.

The afternoon symposium sessions were focused on a wide range of social justice issues. Some sessions focused on Dr. Martin Luther King and his life and legacy, but others branched out into different topics. This included sessions about Black American history, Native American issues, supporting immigrants in Minnesota, and Climate Justice. Some also touched on topics like restorative justice, intersectionality, and using music and art as forms of activism. 

Quite a few of the sessions were led by Breck students and teachers, but there were also other community leaders who took time to come to Breck and lead sessions. The wide range of different voices and topics in these sessions was great. Shout out to the session leaders and everyone who helped put this together!