{"id":126,"date":"2017-01-13T15:39:22","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T15:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drwills.edublogs.org\/?p=126"},"modified":"2018-01-25T00:07:09","modified_gmt":"2018-01-25T05:07:09","slug":"martin-luther-king-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/district\/superintendent\/martin-luther-king-jr\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin Luther King, Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Putnam Valley Community:<\/span><\/p>\n

As we prepare to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 16, 2017, I\u00a0 would like to call your attention to some recent films that provide rich and remarkable background to help us understand the turning point in the history of civil rights that took place in 1963. Three films seem to capture the issues that moved Martin Luther King, Jr. as a Civil Rights leader. \u00a0August Wilson\u2019s play, Fences<\/em>, presents the plight of African-American workers in the fifties, and portrays themes of childhood disappointment, parenting, marital relationships and frustration with limited expectations that are common to all families. Moonlight<\/em> is a poignant coming of age film that provides insights into the unique pain of young black men as they venture into the world. \u00a0These two films are not recommended for children. They explore adult topics and issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, in a completely different way, and suitable for families to view, the movie, Hidden Figures<\/em>, <\/i>tells a story that captures vividly the context of Martin Luther King\u2019s struggle for Civil Rights. In this film, based on a book by Margot Lee Shetterly, we learn about three women whose knowledge of mathematics was critical to John Glenn\u2019s manned space flight in 1962, and the restoration of our pride in America\u2019s role as the leader of scientific progress following the Soviet Union\u2019s colossal \u201cfirst in space\u201d triumph in 1961. In this buried gem of our history, three African American women, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, math prodigies, known as \u201chuman computers\u201d for their ability to do complex calculations with incredible speed and accuracy, were called upon by NASA to calculate and plot the space launches and the return of astronauts to earth. Even with the invention of the first IBM computers, these women taught themselves to program and were relied upon to ensure the safe return of our men in space.<\/span><\/p>\n

We haven\u2019t heard about these women because their story was hidden; nor were their hardships in a segregated environment revealed. Even with all their knowledge and skill, because they were African American, they suffered indignities that shock us today.\u00a0 They were required to walk a \u00bd mile to get to a segregated bathroom, and even denied the use of the coffee pot in the break-room.\u00a0 Undaunted, they rise above the hardships; they are committed to their nation and the dream of space travel.\u00a0 Finally, last year, their leader, Katherine Johnson, 98, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope that your family will be able to see this film.\u00a0 You will find inspiration and much to admire and revere in the dignity and humanity of these three American heroes.\u00a0 I believe they earn our deep respect for what Martin Luther King, Jr. called in his iconic \u201cI have a dream\u201d speech, the \u201ccontent of their character.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

(Here is a link to the movie trailer: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5wfrDhgUMGI<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

After Wednesday night\u2019s high school chorus concert, I feel compelled to share a video-clip of our students who sang the song, \u201cMy Shot\u201d from Hamilton<\/i> against a backdrop also created by a student, sending the message of the dreams of our nation for unity of purpose within diversity of thought and experience, and the opportunity for each of our students to \u201crise\u201d and make a difference. https:\/\/youtu.be\/tLV_GcDbbA4<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Frances Wills<\/span><\/p>\n

Superintendent of Schools<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Putnam Valley Community: As we prepare to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 16, 2017, I\u00a0 would like to call your attention to some recent films that provide rich and remarkable background to help us understand the turning point in the history of civil rights that took place in 1963. Three films… Continue Reading Martin Luther King, Jr.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-superintendent","clearfix"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2875,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126\/revisions\/2875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvcsd.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}