MLK 2023

On January 23, the Lower School attended the first in-person Martin Luther King Jr. Assembly since 2020. This assembly, which focuses on the theme of justice, is one of the five major thematic assemblies at the School and is tied deeply to our mission. As in past years, 1st graders took the lead. During the program, students sang protest songs, performed poetry, and helped our young audience understand the importance of Dr. King’s legacy—and the ongoing work seeking civil rights for all. 

The students' entrance onto the stage was perhaps the most powerful moment of the show. Invoking the peaceful march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 21, 1965, the curtain opened to reveal our 1st graders, linked arm-in-arm, as the music video for “Glory” by Common and John Legend from the movie Selma played above them. 

Watch the video of their entrance (Instagram) >>

As has been tradition, the assembly closed with a community sing of “We Shall Overcome,” led by former LMS arts department chair Jackie Marlin*. We were proud to welcome Jackie and her husband, David, back after three years. 

View the gallery from the Assembly >>

*During her many years at GDS, Jackie Marlin served as President of the Board of Trustees, Assistant Principal of the Middle School, Chair of the Lower/Middle School Arts Department, and a member of the admissions team. She is the parent of GDS alum Jacob Marlin ’84.