Christian Academy students discuss Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'Dream'

Jan. 18—NEW ALBANY — High school students at Christian Academy of Indiana gathered Thursday to discuss Martin Luther King Jr. and his "I Have a Dream" speech.

This "Table of Brotherhood Lunch" was focused on the events that led to the speech in 1963, the progress that has been made since then and what people can do to embody the message of unity.

The lunch was a first for the school and it hopes to turn it into a yearly event.

"We're just excited that God has given us an opportunity to focus on something that is so important," said Deon Parker, Christian Academy School System's director of biblical unity. "It can be so beneficial to us and also for future students here in the school."

Not only did King's speech bring the group together, but so did a passage from the Bible, Matthew Chapter 22 verse 39: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

"It's not the neighbors that you consider to be your neighbors, it's not the neighbors you approve of, it's every human being," Parker said.

From the "I Have a Dream" speech, the main topic discussed with the students was King's statement, "I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."

This discussion was to help the students come together against the belief of people being so different that they cannot get along with each other.

During the discussion, each student was handed a sheet of paper with a word or a phrase and they had to explain why that thought should unify people.

"We gathered together, unified as one body under God, just to represent how unity is super important and it's essential to our lives," said Ty Hancock, an 11th grader at Christian Academy of Indiana. "It hasn't been in the past, but it should be in our everyday lives."

To Hancock, the "I Have a Dream" speech represents how being civil and unified represents freeness for everyone and to have equality with his friends and peers.

"As people who all believe in Christ and believe in most of the same principles, it's amazing to be able to come together and talk about even more than that, like talk about the past and not just what's going on right now," said Kayla Bell, a 9th grader at Christian Academy of Indiana.

After the discussion, one of the biggest things that Bell said she learned is that everyone is so much alike.

"We are all so much alike and we should all be unified," Bell said. "Because we all go through the same struggles."

Donail Smith, a 9th grader at Christian Academy of Indiana, said that it was important they gathered Thursday to talk about their experiences with unity and what they have seen.

She also spoke about how it was important to talk about how King had an impact on everyone, not just people of color.

"He left a mark that we see all the way into today," Smith said.