Today, Americans across the country remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his peaceful fight against injustice in American society. King inspired a generation to demand equality, justice, and decency, and for the United States to follow through on the promises made in the Constitution. His words echo, even today, over half a century later and they continue to inspire Mahopac’s students.
“Segregation was when people in this country were separated due to the color of their skin,” Lakeview teacher Jeanne Russo explained to her third-grade students.
Many of Russo and Don Triebel’s students proved their knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement by sharing details about the injustices of the time.
“That was when black people and white people couldn’t use the same buses,” said Lakeview student Emma.
Students had a chance to listen to the historic “I Have a Dream” speech delivered by King before the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Then, Triebel and Russo told students that they would have a chance to explore their own dreams for the world.
“I dream that all wars would end,” said a student named Zayn, “and that the whole world would be at peace.”
Students cut out doves and pasted them beside a dream they had for a brighter future. Students dreamed of peace, homes for the homeless, and food for the hungry.
“I want poor people to get treated well like we do,” said a student named Sean. “I don’t want people to be homeless.”
With an eye to the past and a dream for the future, Mahopac’s current students will one day become doctors, engineers, politicians, and teachers with the tools to create the change that they dream of today.