Honoring Martin Luther King, event to examine social justice

“I think this is really an opportunity to see the world from someone else’s point of view.”

By Paul Rowley • January 16, 2019 1:30 am
Presenters at the event will include islander Trish Dziko (top left), Daemond Arrindell, who will emcee (top right) Thrett Brown (bottom left), Tom Pruiksma (center) and author and educator Lois Watkins (bottom right) (Courtesy Photos).
Presenters at the event will include islander Trish Dziko (top left), Daemond Arrindell, who will emcee (top right) Thrett Brown (bottom left), Tom Pruiksma (center) and author and educator Lois Watkins (bottom right) (Courtesy Photos).

Vashon Center for the Arts will host a free event at 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, in the Kay White Hall honoring the contributions that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made to civil rights and social justice.

Presenters will include author and educator Lois Watkins; Thrett Brown of the nonprofit Young Business Men and Women; islander Trish Dziko, who will promote a new book written about her foundation, and the student spoken word and poetry group, Just Speak.

Kaycie Alanis, program manager for Vashon Artists in the Schools (VAIS), said Just Speak originally inspired the idea for a tribute to King.

“That’s really where this event spun out of, as an opportunity to have them speak on these issues and perform work they’ve been developing through the group,” she said.

Coordinated by VAIS, the students will perform work they have prepared and will be led by poet Tom Pruiksma and Daemond Arrindell, a poet, performer and teaching artist who will also moderate the presentations.

Watkins, an author and educator, will discuss her experience living in the segregated South.

“She will bring that perspective of what was it like before the civil rights movement, and how the civil rights movement changed our culture, and where we are now, examining that juxtaposition of then and now,” said Alanis.

Brown will use the subjects of race and identity as the context for a hip hop improv performance. To Alanis, it’s another valuable perspective.

“I think any event like this is really an opportunity to see the world from someone else’s point of view and let that inform how you move through your day and interact with the people around you,” she said. “We’re hoping people will come away with the idea that, ‘What can I do and help continue the work that has been going on for 60 years? What can I do in my everyday life to further that?’”

Dziko, the co-founder and executive director of the Technology Access Foundation, will speak about equity and access in STEM education for people of color, and how islanders can tackle some of those issues themselves. When she was invited to present, one of her first questions was about the intention behind the event.

“We as a society tend to have Martin Luther King celebrations and end up walking away, doing nothing, and not even knowing who the real Martin Luther King was,” she said. “For me, this is about what people are going to take away and where they can actively combat racism instead of just talking about it.”

What matters to her, she said, is the representation of broader cultures in public schools and the American education system, adding that she wants to challenge people to change the system so that more educators look like the students they teach.

“It will be interesting to see based on the conversations afterward if people believe they’re the ones who could and should make the change,” said Dziko.