Teesdale students help mark 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King to the region

STUDENTS at Teesdale School have been selected to help deliver a programme of cultural events that commemorates the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King’s honorary degree award by Newcastle University.

On November 13, 1967, Newcastle University awarded Dr King an honorary degree, the only UK university to do so in his lifetime.

On accepting this award, Dr King made what was to be his final public speech outside the US before his assassination in April 1968. In a moving address, he called for people to join him in the ongoing struggle against war, poverty and racism.

Freedom City 2017 brings together international artists, musicians, filmmakers, academics and community groups to inspire a new generation to contribute towards tackling the issues that Dr King spoke of in his acceptance speech. The students, who are all part of the school’s history research group, have been involved in Freedom City 2017 projects for some months now, which will culminate in an evening of art, music and history celebrating Dr King’s legacy on November 10 in Old Elvet Methodist Church, Durham, at 7pm.

The event will also coincide with the publication of a special edition of their termly journal, Past to Present, which will focus on what there is to learn 50 years after King’s visit to the region and will feature Dr Benjamin Houston.

Dr Simon Henderson, head of sixth form and the school’s research group, said: “We are delighted and privileged to be taking part in the Freedom City 2017 initiative, which has given our students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of a unique celebration of Dr King’s life and legacy.

“Students have been working hard on the journal as well as art projects including creating a giant collaborative collage portrait of Dr King with students from other schools.

“We would like to extend a warm invitation to attend our free event on November 10 at 7pm to see for yourself the outstanding contribution Teesdale students have made to this exciting project.”

Prof Brian Ward, chairman of the American Studies Department at Northumbria University and author of a new book Martin Luther King in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne – The African American Freedom Struggle and Race Relations in the North East of England, has written a special foreword for the school’s upcoming journal.

The research group also interviewed Meredyth Bell, the deputy president of the Students’ Representative Council at Newcastle University in 1967, who was among a small group of undergraduates who met Dr King over coffee when he visited. One of Teesdale’s year 12 students, Nina Holguin, has a particular connection with King’s visit. Her grandmother, Carolyn Robson, met Dr King as one of the small group of students before the degree ceremony itself. Mrs Robson was interviewed for a short documentary made by filmmaker and ex-Teesdale student Oliver Smith. It will also be premiered on the evening of November 10. Due to their involvement in the initiative, the group was treated to a private screening of the film Freedom and a discussion session with its director Ian McDonald. The students also spent time viewing the Not as it is written: Black Pittsburgh in voice and image exhibit.

Students also visited Staindrop Primary School to deliver a session on the legacy of Dr King to its year six students. The research group used discussion to help the primary school pupils engage with the radical nature of Dr King’s message and what it means for society in 2017.