News & Media
News
Students Create Art, Poetry Inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.
At the end of January, students were encouraged to listen to the speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and create art and poetry inspired by his words. The result? Deeply moving images and poems expressing students’ anxieties, fears, and hopes for the future.
To aid in the creative process, students listened to the following songs by Loyola Choir for further inspiration:
Beautiful works of art were submitted by Emily Samaritano ’24, Katie Bennett ’22, Gina Li ’23, and Madeline Strom ’22 and can be viewed in the adjacent gallery.
Poems
I Have A Nightmare
by Segen Berhane ’22
I have a dream that has transformed into a nightmare.
History repeats itself but no one seems to care.
I marched and fought for my people to be free, even if they were scarred
Yet free is the last thing that my people are.
I watch from above, hoping I made a change
But I see my people still struggling and it fills me with rage.
How much longer do we have to endure
Before our safety is ensured?
I cry from above, you can feel it in the rain
But even with me crying, prejudice remains.
I led the Bus Boycott in Montgomery, hoping others would listen
Yet all we get are baseless promises from politicians.
It’s simple, really, what is hard to get?
We are just humans--we are NOT a threat.
Wake me from this nightmare, that once was a dream.
Let us create a community, not a regime.
We are all the same but I am still concerned
That the debt you owe will never be returned.
You chained my people about 400 years ago
Yet this country has failed to grow.
My people still endure the effects of your inhumanity
And instead of being chained physically, they are bound by society.
I delivered a powerful and motivational speech in 1963
But 58 years later, and my people are still not free.
I have a dream that has transformed into a nightmare
But this dream seems as if it will never be repaired.
“Peaks”
by Anonymous
inspired by the last paragraph of the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech
He stood atop the mountain
And told us what he’d seen,
And now we sit in wonder,
For no one else has been.
We remain below the peaks,
Much climbing lies ahead,
To reach that sacred summit,
For this is what he said.
This climb must be no lonesome journey,
Nor a solitary road.
There is a path for all the world.
It’s time to share the load.
And one day when we reach the peaks,
We’ll turn and look below.
We’ll see that long awaited world,
But everyone will know.
The trek was never easy,
Many lost along the way.
But they marked out the trail for us
So the earth could see this day.
I repeat it for you now my friends,
For many need to hear:
We’re still below the peaks today.
Let’s pray that we draw near,
So all mankind can see that land,
The great King told us of.
He said the greatest path to take
Shall start and end with love.
He Had A Dream
by EJ Maggitt ’24
by EJ Maggitt ’24
He had a dream
He had a purpose
He wanted Peace
He wanted them to stop the hurt
He wanted them to speak the truth
He wanted to survive the harsh treatment
He led his community through the hard times
He changed the world He said “I HAD A DREAM”
He said “We must accept finite disappointment,
but never lose hope”
He never lost hope
He never wanted violence
He died to save his people
He is Dr. Martin Luther King
And he had a dream
Untitled
by Chelsea Antwi ’24
I have a dream that everyone is treated equally
I have a dream that black women will not be
disrespected for who they are
I have a dream that they LGBT community will feel safe
when alone
I have a dream that people with disabilities will not feel
ashamed of who they are
I have a dream that people with mental illnesses will not
isolate themselves and open up and get the help they
need
I have a dream that women will be able to walk alone
and not feel they are in danger
I have a dream that African-American men will not be
seen as a threat to police and law
I have a dream that all animals on the verge of
extinction will become safe
I have a dream that all suffering will end
Loyola Academy
1100 Laramie Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091-1089 | 847-256-1100
Loyola Academy admits students of any race, color and national origin or ethnic origin.
© Copyright 2020 Loyola Academy