On January 16th, Black Student Union members put on a MLK assembly. This year, BSU went all out on their preparations for the assembly! The assembly consisted of two guest speakers, a guest singer from Cleveland High School, an amazing video collage that highlighted student and staff voices (made in collaboration with the Film Club), and a unifying Swag Surfin’ dance at the end.

The MLK assembly was a breath of fresh air, the first assembly of the new year. The assembly wasn’t merely about remembering a not-so distant past–it was also about recognizing the many black people who are succeeding in the world today.

BSU began the assembly with a special guest, Cleveland student Cameron Page, singing the Black National Anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” BSU specifically chose this as the starting point for the assembly as a direct contrast to the way that sporting events in the US kick off with the American National Anthem.

According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the history behind the Black National Anthem started in 1899, when James Weldon Johnson wrote a poem for Abraham Lincoln’s birthday inspired by the ongoing struggles of Black Americans. He wanted his words to capture themes of perseverance, faith, and hope. Shortly after, his brother John Johnson composed music for the poem, and it made its debut at a Jacksonville school sung by 500 children.

In 1919, the NAACP recognized “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the Black National Anthem.

At the assembly we were lucky to have two black women come in as guest speakers. They offered their knowledge and guidance to not only Lincoln students, but towards the next generation of young learners and hard workers.

For the first group of students we had guest speaker Dr. Estell Williams. Dr. Williams is a general surgeon at the University of Washington Medical Center and an assistant professor of General Surgery at UW.

She talked about some struggles she went through as a kid, but most notably she emphasized the point that even though she was the youngest of 7 to a single father who picked cotton with a 3rd grade reading level, he instilled in her values and skills that allowed her to become the surgeon she is today at UW. Her advice for students was to take the knowledge and skills from others around you and use them as tools to building your success for the future.

The 2nd assembly group got Ms. DarNesha Weary, coffee shop owner of Black Coffee North West.  Ms. Weary’s idea she brought at the start of her speech on stage was, “What legacy will you leave behind?” She used this phrase throughout her speech. For example, she said we all can impact the world weather we think we can or not, and if we would let others shape our legacy.

Both speakers came to us with different stories and backgrounds, but both left us with not only optimism for the future but also the knowledge to not take anything for granted. It is important that we know we have an impacted and use it to shape our legacy. We were honored to have Dr. Williams and Ms. DarNesha give the time to voice their experiences of being black women.