Prior to the Martin Luther King Jr. march, an Oak Park, IL middle school broke out in song and dance for spectators. The students had come to the Atlanta metro area on Thursday to participate in the National Junior Theater Festival at the Cobb Galleria and had won an “Outstanding Production” award. Staying the extended weekend, the students were taken to the Historic Site early Monday for a public performance outside of Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Tina Reynolds, director of Gwendolyn Brooks’s performing arts, stated that ” We’re from diverse community near Chicago. We thought it was really important that we took today to come to Martin Luther King Historic Site and reflect on all that we should be grateful for and we thought we’d share all of our gifts and talents.”
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School student Evelyn Cappelli sings for parade spectators.
Nattassia Barnes (second from right) leads the rest of the students in song.
Swift movements and synchronous singing by the students.
Spectacular! It is a historical moment for the kids from Brooks. We are extremely proud of all of them.