Students and teachers had mixed emotions anticipating Monday’s seminars to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Pat Savage-Williams, New Trier Special Education Coordinator and leader of MLK day planning, said the goal of this seminar day was to educate NT students about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. It was to “talk about race in a meaningful way, [for students to] talk about their race and what race means, and explore why people make assumptions about race,” Savage-Williams said.
With this, Savage-Williams hoped New Trier students would gain a different perspective and be more conscious of racism in our community and society.
More importantly, she hoped it would motivate students to continue to talk about race, even if it’s uncomfortable. “The way to change the world is to have these conversations,” Savage-Williams said.
Many students were excited for the seminars, as they agree that race is an issue that needs to be addressed. Sophomore Sophia Finerman said, “I feel like people don’t really talk about it because it’s an uncomfortable subject, we’re used to being around people of the same race.”
Other kids had different views. Sophomore Jessi Alt said the lack of diversity at New Trier needs to be addressed, but “I don’t see a lot of bullying because of someone’s race.”
Some students would’ve rather had the day off of school, seeing an entire school day devoted to race as unnecessary. A junior, who requested not to be named, said “I would love to talk about it [race] in my English or history class, but I’m not sure that cutting a whole day out is a good idea. It’s not productive.”
Savage-Williams said the fact that New Trier is predominantly white makes the race conversation even more important.
“My friends always ask, ‘Why do you do race work at New Trier, it’s mostly white?’ But if I don’t talk about it, it’s not going to get done at all. It’s really important to have this conversation,” said Savage-Williams.
The reason why New Trier held school on MLK day is due to the building renovations, as the district gave up most normally scheduled three-day weekends to allow for a longer summer and more efficient construction.
Savage-Williams said, “The construction company asked for as much of the summer as possible. But using MLK day as a regular attendance day just didn’t feel right.”
Savage-Williams wanted to make the day engaging for students and faculty alike. Teachers volunteered to lead different seminars about race that range from discussing white privilege to watching and analyzing the popular TV show “Black-ish.”
The group of faculty members planning the event, led by Savage-Williams and Timothy Hayes, wanted to incorporate student-leaders into the seminars as well. “Kids will listen to kids. We’re looking for students to share with their peers,” said Savage-Williams.

Savage-Williams was aware that some faculty members were opposed to the MLK day event and some students would just take the day off. Though she said this was disappointing, she remained optimistic about the experience. “I don’t know what to say to that [negative feedback]. The best thing I can do is continue to move forward in a positive way and hope that they come on board.”
Because of the long-term construction, New Trier plans to hold school on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the next two years. Savage-Williams said, “Some people just won’t come [this year]. At the end of the day, when it’s so good and people are raving about it, they’ll wish they had come. And next year, they’ll come.”
She hoped students who missed Monday “will look at this as a missed opportunity. I hope they will hear wonderful, positive things.”
Savage-Williams hopes to start a tradition of using Martin Luther King Jr. day as an opportunity for race education and awareness.
“I can’t predict the future, but then again, after this, it’s hard to do nothing. I’ve talked to students about what they usually do on MLK Day- they go skiing, sleep in, go to the mall. I’m thinking this is better.”