On Monday, members of the Duluth community braved cold temperatures to join together and celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; to recognize this remarkable man and the hopes and dreams he had for our nation. He walked with great leaders, and he stirred those being led with his powerful words. King won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. He was, at age 35, the youngest man at the time to do so.
While he is studied at various times throughout the year, in January we, as a school community, create special opportunities to honor the life and work of King. Students read and listen to his speeches, write stories and essays, watch movies about his life, create artwork, sing the songs of the civil rights movement and talk about what we can do to help realize his dream.
We are nearly 40 years from his death in April of 1968, a year more than King lived.
I was a junior in college at Colorado State when he was assassinated. The news hit campus hard, and that evening we gathered in the student center to talk about what had happened. We lit candles and I remember groups of people hugging each other as we talked about the loss of King, the state of our country and the civil rights movement -- and what would happen next.
King was a visionary leader, someone truly ahead of his time, and he was instrumental in forming my own beliefs about leadership. He was the first person I ever heard talk about "servant leadership," encouraging leaders to serve others while staying focused on achieving results in line with the organization's values and integrity.
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In a sermon delivered just two months before he died, King said this to a congregation in Atlanta: "If you want to be important -- wonderful. If you want to be recognized -- wonderful. If you want to be great -- wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness. ... It means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. ... You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant."
King defined leadership as the ability to forge coalitions, consensus and alliances based upon the best interest of all concerned. Obtain the information you need the most, keep channels of communication open and allow the organization to redefine itself.
I have followed his definition of leadership throughout my career, and, if I have been successful, it is in no small part due to the ideas and foresight of King.
I think about his words as we consider the many aims and goals we have for our children and our school district, and the important work we've begun and will take on in the coming years. Making real progress in closing the achievement gap, defining our vision for the education we, as a community, want to promise every child and determining how best to use the resources entrusted to us, both in terms of people and dollars.
In all we do, our goal is to serve the students in our care and the community that provides the support to do so.
Our methods include gathering good information, building partnerships and coalitions and keeping the channels of communication open.
The words of one man, spoken nearly four decades ago, speak eloquently to the work we do today.
The courage and hope of one man, demonstrated to us so powerfully years ago, will encourage our continued and untiring efforts in the years to come.
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Contact Duluth Schools Superintendent Keith Dixon by e-mail at keith.dixon@duluth.k12.mn.us or by phone at 336-8752.
