A Triumphant In-Person Return for MLK Brunch at Upper School

After a 3-year hiatus of an in-person Martin Luther King Day Brunch, the BB&N community once again gathered to listen to keynote speakers and enjoy good food with good company. The day featured personal reflections on Dr. King’s legacy and beliefs by BB&N’s Head of School Jen Price, and members of the DEIG department—Leila Bailey-Stewart, and Candie Sanderson—as well as a presentation from keynote speaker Oneda Horne.

Price and Bailey-Stewart discussed Dr. King’s dedication to service and love and how as a community and as individuals, we can learn and serve the greater good. Bailey-Stewart talked about her “beloved community,” a term used and popularized by MLK, to encourage people to band together against poverty and inequity. These introductions with themes of love, service, and education were an appropriate segue to the keynote presentation.

Oneda Horne, the Boston Executive Director at Room to Grow, detailed how her upbringing ignited a passion for learning and advancing equity in the earliest years of life, an ideal match for the mission of both MLK and Room to Grow. The not-for-profit focuses on early childhood care, beginning in the third trimester of pregnancy and providing resources in a wrap-around approach until the child’s third birthday. The first few years of a child’s development are critical, and deficits can leave a lasting impact throughout the child’s education. Room to Grow seeks to bridge gaps in equity across all aspects of early childhood development and currently aids more than 400 families in the Boston area.

Seeing smiling faces back together, in person, bolstered the spirit of the day and reinforced Dr. King’s legacy as the BB&N community came together.