The following coverage is from ASCD’s Annual Conference, which took place virtually June 23-25. Learn more.
Even from the seemingly confined box that encapsulates a fully online conference, Bernice King’s call for love and belonging resonated far and wide: “That was a phenomenal experience that I will cherish forever,” wrote one attendee in the chat after the 45-minute conversation concluded.
With more than 4,000 education professionals in attendance, Bernice King—Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter and CEO of The King Center—called on educators and thought leaders to “use your influence.” In particular, the civil rights advocate signaled the need to continue battling against the segregation and inequity that abounds in society.
“The fact of the matter is we’re intertwined, interconnected, and interrelated in this world and so we have to find a way to live together as brothers and sisters, or together we’ll be forced to parish as fools,” King said.
Continuing the work on nonviolence started by her father, King took over the leadership of The King Center from her late mother, Coretta Scott King, and launched an initiative around her father’s philosophy called nonviolence365—a curriculum with teachings centered on spreading love every day of the year.
“The first step for me is, how do we incorporate nonviolence in our curriculum? Every school system—public schools, private schools, charter schools—needs to have this as part of their curriculum. Young people need to learn how to lead nonviolent lives, how to communicate in nonviolent ways.”
The initiative offers training so that individuals can influence equitable change nationally and globally. “How do we help challenge [an adversary’s] thinking without putting that person down, and how do we help educate them and open their minds to other possibilities?”
King also hailed the work of educators as critical to laying the foundation for future nonviolent change, suggesting that educators are far undervalued in society for the work they have to perform.
“Everyone goes through an educator in this country,” she said, explaining that the relationships between adults and future generations will be critical to eliminating the evils of segregation and inequity.
In addition to spreading love and nonviolence, the conversation turned to belonging—and the fear that can hinder it.
“Men hate each other because they fear each other, they fear each other because they don’t know each other, they don’t know each other because they are not communicating, and they are not communicating because they are separated from each other.”
King urged the audience to reflect on nonviolence, and, when ready, take the BE LOVE pledge.
