Students at Teesdale School have been selected to help deliver ‘Freedom City 2017’, a programme of cultural events that commemorates the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King’s honorary degree award by Newcastle University.
On 13 November 1967, Newcastle University awarded Dr Martin Luther King an honorary degree, the only UK university to do so in his lifetime. On accepting this award, Dr King made what was to be his final public speech outside of the US before his assassination in April 1968. In a moving address, he called for us to join him in the ongoing struggle against war, poverty and racism. Freedom City 2017 brings together international artists, musicians, filmmakers, academics and community groups to inspire a new generation to contribute towards tackling the issues that Dr King spoke of in his acceptance speech.
The students, who are all part of the school’s History Research Group, have been involved in Freedom City 2017 projects for some months now, which will soon culminate evening of art, music and history celebrating King’s legacy on 10 November in Old Elvet Methodist Church in Durham at 7 pm.
The event will also coincide with the publication of a special edition of their termly journal, Past to Present, which will focus on what there is to learn fifty years after King’s visit to the region and will feature Dr Benjamin Houston. Senior Lecturer in Modern US History at Newcastle University, who will deliver the key note address.
Dr Simon Henderson, Head of Sixth Form and our research group said: “We are delighted and privileged to be taking part in the Freedom City 2017 initiative, which has given our students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of a unique celebration of Dr King’s life and legacy. Students have been working hard on the journal as well as art projects including creating a giant collaborative collage portrait of Dr King with students from other schools. We would like to extend a warm invitation to attend our free November 10th at 7pm to see for yourself the outstanding contribution Teesdale students have made to this exciting project.”
Professor Brian Ward, Chair of the American Studies Department at Northumbria University and author of a new book Martin Luther King in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne – The African American Freedom Struggle and the Race Relations in the North East of England, has written a special foreword for the school’s upcoming journal.
The research group also interviewed Meredyth Bell, the Deputy President of the Students’ Representative Council at Newcastle University in1967, who was among a small group of undergraduates who met with Dr King over coffee when he visited.
One of Teesdale’s own Year 12 students, Nina Holguin, has a particular connection with King’s visit. As her grandmother, Carolyn Robson, met King as one of the small group of students before the degree ceremony itself. Mrs Robson was interviewed for a short documentary made by local film maker and ex-Teesdale student, Oliver Smith, which will also be premiered on the evening of November 10th.
Due to their involvement in the initiative, the group was recently treated to a private screening of the film FREEDOM and a discussion session with its director Ian McDonald. FREEDOM is a conceptual four screen installation that celebrates the political energy of Martin Luther King Jr and underscores the ‘fierce urgency of now’. The students also spent time viewing the Not as it is written: Black Pittsburgh in voice and image exhibit. This depicts elements of race relations and the civil rights struggle in Pittsburgh, USA, by combining the spoken recollections of black Pittsburghers (recorded by the Remembering African American Pittsburgh oral history project at Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies and the Economy) with historic photos from the world-class Charles "Teenie" Harris Archive held by the Carnegie Museum of Art. The students then had a question and answer session with Dr Ben Houston of Newcastle University who curated the exhibit and were able to gain special insight into the collection of photographs and oral histories through conversation with Charlene Foggie-Barnett of the Carnegie Museum of Art.
Students also recently visited Staindrop Church of England Primary School to deliver a session on the legacy of Martin Luther King to its year six students. The research group utilised small group discussion to help the primary school pupils engage with the radical nature of King’s message and what it means for society in 2017.
Freedom City 2017 is a programme commemorating the 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King being awarded an honorary degree by Newcastle University.
Freedom City 2017 is a partnership between Newcastle University, Northern Roots and NewcastleGateshead Initiative. The vision for Freedom City 2017 was devised by Adam and Patrick Collerton and the city wide programme has been curated with partners across Newcastle upon Tyne