The upcoming President’s Day honors the national heroes among America’s past presidents, but earlier last month, a different hero was honored. To Parker high schoolers, January 15 was the day before the week of first-semester final exams.  Flashcards were memorized, papers were edited, and study groups convened on their day off from regular classes.

Amidst the chaos of school work, it was easy to forget that to America, January 15 was a national holiday. “MLK Day” marks the birthday of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.

Andrew Bigelow, high school History teacher, explained MLK Day in his own words. “We all reap the benefits of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, two things he advocated for,” he said. “The idea is to celebrate an American’s birthday who had a tremendous impact on our lives. He’s a significant agent of change… It took a grassroots movement to eventually solidify support behind these acts.”

Along with his American History classes, Bigelow is currently teaching an elective course specifically on the Civil Rights Movement.

Born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, King was a Baptist minister and nonviolent activist during the Civil Rights Movement. He is arguably the most noteworthy activist during the movement, having played instrumental roles in key events such as the Montgomery bus boycott, the March on Washington (where King’s “I Have A Dream” speech took place), and the Chicago Open Housing Movement.

A campaign for a national holiday in King’s name began shortly after his assassination in 1968. The first time MLK Day was officially observed was in 1986, three years after former President Ronald Reagan signed it into law. While some states resisted observing the holiday, MLK Day was officially celebrated across all 50 states by 2000.

MLK Day is on the third Monday of January every year, which happened to be King’s actual birthday this year.

Junior Hannah Kershner recalled how she celebrated MLK Day in previous years. “In years past, my family has gone to exhibits at museums about MLK Day,” she said. “In history class at my previous school in North Carolina, we got a family friend who is very close with Congressman John Lewis to come in and teach us about the Civil Rights Movement. This happened every year at my old school.”

Junior Chad White has some traditions of his own. He said, “I usually go to a MLK brunch held at the Hilton Hotel.”

Despite students like Kershner and White personally recognizing the importance of MLK Day, some feel that the holiday isn’t adequately acknowledged at Parker.

“As for adequately recognizing the holiday, I wasn’t here in lower school, so I don’t know what they do,” Kershner said. “But I don’t remember ever really celebrating it in any of my classes at Parker.”

White commented on the timing with final exams, saying, “No, it seems just like an extra day to study for finals.”

Bigelow highlighted how his curriculum includes King. “Ms. Barr and I do this significant unit called the Legacy of Reconstruction,” he said, “and King is definitely a focal point.”

“As a History Department this year, we’re going to put on an MX to honor the fifty-year anniversary of his death and of 1968,” Bigelow said. “We’re going to look at Parker fifty years ago, what’s going on in the world, in Chicago, in music, culture, Vietnam… It’s fifty years from the assassination this April.”

Despite disagreements on Parker’s recognition of MLK Day, all agreed that it’s an important day that everyone can learn from.

“It’s not just to recognize King for one day, and not just to recognize black history for one month,” he said.  “The idea is that his voice, his message, is a common thread throughout all of our lessons.”

Kershner agreed.  “It symbolizes the fighting and resisting that had to be done to change the treatment of African Americans,” he said. “It symbolizes an amazing man and how he changed the world, and it is so important for everyone to know the background of the holiday and the real history of our country.”