Signs in a hallway posted with inspiring quotes from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the way to a commemoration of the famed civil rights leader’s life Thursday at the Lyons Township High School South Campus.
The event included members of the Second Baptist Church of La Grange singing gospel songs, and students reading poems and sharing their own reflections on King’s life
The presenters, like the signs, noted some of King’s words that have inspired them such as “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
The keynote speaker was John L. Young, former 17-year principal of the school, who directed his address to the evening’s theme of Love is the Key.
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Young, who is African-American, was introduced by former superintendent Dennis G. Kelly, who hired him in 1992.
At the time, Kelly recalled, the school district was troubled with bickering between two principals. When he pushed for Young to be hired as the sole principal, Kelly said he was asked by some members of the community “Why are we going to hire a black principal for a virtually all white school?”
Kelly asked the skeptics to give him a year and he’d either be proven right or wrong about Young’s abilities. After a year, he recalled that he was owed many apologies and that the students, school and community came to love Young.
“He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever seen and he’s one of the best persons I’ve ever known,” Kelly said.
Stepping on to the stage, Young talked about how King was a pastor, but expanded his role to respond to the challenges.
“He realized there was work to be done outside the church,” Young said.
Young recalled his years as a basketball player at Michigan State when he and other African-American players didn’t stay at the same hotels as white players.
Young also talked about his tenure as principal at LT.
When students told him there were too many cliques in the schools, Young created Friendly Friday and asked students to introduce themselves to at least on new person on that day. He took the effort a step further, and deemed LT to be the friendliest school in the nation. He even created pins and other items that reflected that theme.
“I wanted this school to be a place where not one student felt uncomfortable all day long,” he said.
Despite the work he was doing to create a loving and accepting atmosphere at the school, Young said he faced his own challenges and continues to do so today.
“I’m almost 80 and I still get watched when I go around a store,” he said.
He still feels the need to counsel his grandson on what to do if the young man is ever stopped by police.
“You can’t say the same things white boys can,” said Young, who also advises his grandson to keep his hands on the dashboard.
Young noted that not all students have the resources students have at LT.
“And yet, they’re expected to compete and exist in this country and it’s not their fault,” he said.
Noting the police’s motto of “to protect and serve,” Young said it needs to be applied everywhere.
“It’s got to be that way in all communities and it’s not,” he said.
He noted that the U.S. has been a diverse country since it’s very beginnings and needs to embrace that. He said that African-Americans and other minorities have served with honor in all of the country’s wars.
“When Washington crossed the Delaware he had blacks in the boat with him,” Young said.
He recalled when he was growing up on a farm in Michigan that his family’s home was surrounded by farmers of different nationalities including Polish, German and Scandinavian. When he got ready to go to college, he remembered going to tell the Polish farmer that he’d be leaving soon.
“He had tears in his eyes and he said ‘We did a pretty good job, didn’t we?'” Young recalled.
He said America needs to recognize its diversity is an asset, and that love is the key to creating opportunities for everyone.
“We’re a diverse society and our strength comes from that,” he said. “When we start embracing that is when we’ll become a great country.”
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