Press Releases 2008

High school students discuss non-violence at U.S. Embassy

How can young people translate Martin Luther King’s message of non-violence from words into action?  How can Jamaicans change the way they react to violence, and the way they see themselves?  These were some key questions considered by students from Clan Carthy High School in Kingston and Denbigh High School in Clarendon after a film show at the U.S. Embassy on Wednesday, January 23.  The event was organized by the Embassy’s Office of Public Affairs through its Information Resource Center.

U.S. Ambassador Brenda LaGrange Johnson welcomed approximately fifty students aged between twelve and seventeen years to the Embassy, to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday was recognized on January 21 as a U.S. national holiday.  The students watched the film “The March,” which chronicles Dr. King’s famous March on Washington (August 28, 1963), and then shared their thoughts with Meagan Call, Vice Consul at the U.S. Embassy.  The students agreed unanimously that Dr. King’s message of seeking equal rights and justice for all through non-violent means continues to resonate in today’s society, in Jamaica as well as globally.

Ms. Call challenged the students to “walk the walk,” encouraging them to think of practical ways of “incorporating non-violent attitudes and values into our everyday lives.”  Students suggested that getting a good education, exercising leadership and setting an example of honesty and integrity were ways to incorporate Dr. King’s vision into their own lives.  Others spoke of their involvement in their community outside school, through police youth clubs, neighborhood associations and the church.  “We must have a goal and work towards it,” said another.  Several students cited family members as role models; while others felt that entertainers should play a greater role in imparting values, because "most teenagers look up to them." 

One student declared: “Martin Luther King was saying ‘violence does not make any sense – people need to talk it out.".  A fellow-student added: “We must spread the news that we all have rights.”