St. Andrew’s Honors Life, Legacy of Dr. King
The St. Andrew’s community celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in special assemblies on Friday, January 16.
At the Lower School campus, students sang together and listened to choir and percussion performances, as well as "I Have a Dream" presentations by sixth-grade students. At the Upper School, students revisited Dr. King’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, delivered 50 years ago last month in Oslo, Norway. Students Maura Salgo ’16, Gemma Williams ’17, John Covert ‘15, and Aileene Rosales ‘16 joined Father Rob Leacock and Director of Diversity Kendall Evans in sharing Dr. King’s inspired words.
St. Andrew's was proud to have award-winning opera singer Mrs. Icy Simpson-Monroe as the guest speaker and performer on both campuses. Icy attended the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and studied briefly under Barbara Conrad, legendary mezzo-soprano who experienced racial hostility as a UT student in the late 50’s. During her St. Andrew’s visit, Icy spoke about Barbara's influence on her, and concluded her talk with a scintillating rendition of “Give Me Jesus,” a spiritual near and dear to the heart of her former teacher-mentor.
St. Andrew’s celebration culminated on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, when students, faculty, and parents joined with the greater Austin community for songs and prayers at the MLK Statue on the UT campus, before taking the annual march to Huston-Tillotson University.
