The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration
Your
passport
to culture
Teacher’s Resource Guide
2011 – 2012
Generous support for
SchoolTime provided,
in part, by
just imagine
CONTENTS
On Stage
Voices lifted in unity
In the Spotlight
This year’s special guests
Did You Know?
Dr. King and the civil rights era
Music Talk
A guide to gospel
In the Classroom
Teaching Science Through Music
and other activities
More Resources
Related readings and other media
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4
5
6
7
8
Foundation
Kid Power!
Through energy efficiency and conservation,
kids can help preserve our planet’s rich natural
resources and promote a healthy environment.
TIP OF THE DAY
Keeping vigilant
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said,
“The time is always right to do the right thing.” Dr.
King was referring to the need for unity and peace
among all people, but his words can also be applied
to the importance of protecting the Earth. Now is the
time for everyone to “go green” for the safety and
benefit of the environment. There are many actions
to take. For example, help slow global warming by
walking, riding a bicycle or taking a bus instead of a
car. Reduce, reuse or recycle all kinds of items—from
soda cans to clothes and from plastic bags to newspapers—to save energy and raw materials.
Made possible through the generosity of
the PSEG Foundation.
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MLK Celebration • njpac.org
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Arts Education Department presents
the 15th season of the Verizon Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series.
Teacher’s Resource Guide
This resource guide will help you prepare your class for an enriching experience at
our SchoolTime Performance. The guide provides discussion ideas, activities and
reading resources that can promote arts literacy in your classroom. Permission
is granted to copy and distribute this guide to any class attending a 2011-2012
SchoolTime Performance (all other rights reserved). You can find additional resources
online at tinyurl.com/njpac-org-teacherguide
NJPAC Arts Education
At NJPAC, our mission is to join with parents, teachers and community to cultivate
an appreciation of the arts in all children of New Jersey. We believe the arts provide
an effective means of knowing and learning that helps children find the self-esteem,
poise and confidence they need to succeed in every facet of life. Our innovative
programs are designed to engage the artist in every child:
In-School Residencies
Bring the joy of dance, music and theater directly into your classroom with teaching
artists who create stimulating performing arts experiences that engage students’
imaginations and encourage their creative self-expression.
SchoolTime and FamilyTime Performances
Open your students’ eyes to the worlds of music, dance, storytelling, theater, and
puppetry through professional stage productions.
Arts Training Programs
Students express themselves through after-school study of acting, dance, instrumental
music, vocal music, and musical theater. Teaching artists with professional performing
arts experience mentor the students at NJPAC’s Center for Arts Education.
visit NJPAC.ORG
Find additional resources online at http://tiny.cc/njpacguides
On Stage
An homage with spirit
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. Celebration is NJPAC’s annual
tribute to the civil rights leader who
gave his life so that others could have
the freedom, justice and equality
guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
This commemorative program recalls
past intolerance but also seeks to inspire
the whole community toward a better
future where all people will be judged
“not by the color of their skin but by
the content of their character.”
For its 2012 tribute to Dr. King, NJPAC
welcomes the return of acclaimed
composer, pianist and arranger Richard
Smallwood as featured performing
artist. As a vocalist, Smallwood will
be accompanied by the majestic sound
of Vision, a 21-member gospel choir
he founded in the mid-1990s. This
year’s special guest speaker is Dr. Pedro
Noguera, the Peter L. Agnew Professor
of Education at New York University’s
Steinhardt School of Culture,
Education, and Human Development.
Dr. King’s legacy of non-violent
change and dignity for all peoples will
be recalled and celebrated through
uplifting words and music. Smallwood,
a six-time Grammy nominee and bestselling recording artist, will perform
with Vision in a soul-stirring program
of hymns, anthems and melodies to
evoke reverence and praise for the
occasion. His album Promises, released
this year on the Verity label, is filled
with powerful renderings of many
of the messages shared by Dr. King
regarding faith and brotherhood.
Recognized as one of the country’s
leading urban sociologists, Noguera
will share his perspectives on the
state of education and its impact on
youth nationwide, particularly in
Newark. His talk will reflect on the
aspects of positive activism and love
of learning embraced by Dr. King.
Noguera, the author of more than 150
published research articles and reports
on education and race relations, has
appeared in national news media as a
commentator on educational issues.
In the words of Dr. King, “We have
flown the air like birds and swum the
sea like fishes, but have yet to learn
the simple act of walking the earth like
brothers.” NJPAC’s observance revives
his dream by unifying the community’s
brothers and sisters in an afternoon of
jubilation and contemplation.
“Only
in the
darkness
can you
see the
stars.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
MLK Celebration • njpac.org
3
For detailed biographies of Richard Smallwood and
Pedro Noguera, go to richardsmallwood.com and
steinhardt.nyu.edu/faculty_bios/view/Pedro_Noguera.
In the Spotlight
Trailblazers in study and song
Smallwood began his recording career
in the early 1980s with the Richard
Smallwood Singers, whose spiritual charttoppers included Center of My Joy and
Holy Holy. During the ‘90s, with Vision,
his hit radio singles were Total Praise and
Bless the Lord, among many others. Over
the course of making more than a dozen
albums, Smallwood saw a number of his
compositions cross over to other artists’
work: After Houston sang his I Love the
Lord in the 1996 film The Preacher’s
Wife, the same song was adapted by
the R&B group Boyz II Men on the
Evolution CD. As a performer, he joined
other renowned vocalists on Quincy
Jones’ Grammy-winning CD, Handel’s
Messiah: A Soulful Celebration.
Richard Smallwood (Guest Artist)
continues to move the hearts and charm
the ears of listeners with the release of
his latest gospel album, Promises (Verity
Records), featuring Vision, his mighty
ensemble of singers. A composer and
vocalist who has enjoyed four decades
in the music industry, Smallwood is
recognized as the innovator of a gospelclassical blend that has attracted such
A-list artists as Aretha Franklin, Whitney
Houston, Ruben Studdard, and Destiny’s
Child to record his compositions.
Promises, which Smallwood describes
as his most personal album, features
a tribute to his musical mentor—the
late Walter Hawkins—and a cameo on
Praying for Peace by Lalah Hathaway,
who is the daughter of singer Donny
Hathaway, one of Smallwood’s
classmates at Howard University. Other
selections include “Trust Me”—the
soaring lead single—and the joyful
“Mender.”
A multiple Grammy nominee and winner
of Dove and Stellar awards, Smallwood
is a member of the Gospel Music Hall
of Fame. At Howard University, he
earned degrees in vocal performance
and piano and did graduate work in
ethnomusicology. It was there that he
received a Master of Divinity degree in
2003 and was ordained the following year.
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Smallwood grew up in Atlanta, the son
of a strict pastor and a nurturing mother
who fostered a love of music in her child.
These two extremes, he believes, fueled
his passion to follow a path to success in
the music industry.
appointments in the departments of
Teaching and Learning and Humanities
and Social Sciences at NYU’s Steinhardt
School of Culture, Education, and
Human Development, as well as in the
university’s Department of Sociology.
Noguera is also the executive director
of the Metropolitan Center for Urban
Education and co-director of the Institute
for Globalization and Education in
Metropolitan Settings (IGEMS).
In 2008, Noguera was appointed to
serve on the State University of New
York’s board of trustees. He has more
than 150 publications to his credit,
covering such topics as urban school
reform, conditions that promote student
achievement, youth violence, and
race and ethnic relations in American
society. His work has appeared in major
research journals. He is the author
of City Schools and the American
Dream (Teachers College Press,
2003), Unfinished Business: Closing
the Racial Achievement Gap in Our
Schools (Jossey-Bass, 2006) and The
Trouble With Black Boys … and Other
Reflections on Race, Equity, and the
Future of Public Education (Jossey-Bass,
2008).
Noguera is presently working with
seven schools in Newark’s Central Ward
as part of the Global Village School
Zone. This initiative supports these
schools through targeted professional
development for teachers, extended
learning opportunities for students,
comprehensive school-based social
services, and new forms of parental
involvement.
Dr. Pedro Noguera (Speaker) is the
Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education
at New York University and an
award-winning urban sociologist. His
scholarship and research focus on the
ways in which schools are influenced by
social and economic conditions in the
urban environment. He holds faculty
MLK Celebration • njpac.org
Noguera received bachelor’s and master’s
degrees in sociology from Brown
University and a doctorate in sociology
from University of California, Berkeley.
He has held tenured faculty positions
at the Harvard Graduate School of
Education and at UC Berkeley, where he
was also director of the Institute for the
Study of Social Change.
Music Talk
A guide to gospel music
anthem — a hymn of praise or loyalty;
a choral composition having a sacred or
moralizing text.
arrangement — the new adaptation of
an already existing musical piece.
call-and-response — a communication
pattern where one party sends forth a
message or “call” and another party
responds. This pattern is very common
in African and African-descended music
and dance.
choir — a group of singers.
choir director — the person who leads
the choir.
chord — three or more tones having
harmonic relation to each other and
played or sounded together.
composer — a person who writes
music.
dynamics — the interplay between
loudness and softness and smoothness
and “choppiness” of notes that are
played or sung.
Richard Smallwood, a pianist, composer and arranger, will lead the gospel group Vision at NJPAC.
rhythm — a regular pattern produced
by the length of strong and weak
musical sounds at a particular speed or
tempo; frequently called the “beat.”
gospel — a form of vocal music
that developed in African-American
churches, especially in urban areas. It
incorporates elements of African rhythm
and music, African -American song
forms, expressive singing, and, often,
musical accompaniment.
music — the resonant tones and
vibrations that emanate from one or
more voices and/or instruments.
harmony — the result of certain
simultaneously sounding musical
intervals or chords which relate to each
other and sound pleasing.
obligato — a persistent but subordinate
motif; a re-occurring theme.
in unison — in complete agreement;
harmonizing exactly.
musician — a person who plays
a musical instrument, especially
professionally.
phrase — a melodic sequence that
forms a complete unit.
lyrics — the words of a song.
pitch — the property of sound that
changes with variation in the frequency
of vibration.
melody — an organized succession
of single musical tones arranged in a
related and recognizable pattern.
polyrhythm — simultaneous use of
contrasting rhythmic patterns, common
when blending musical styles.
solo — a performance by one person
that may or may not be accompanied by
supporting voices or instruments.
syncopation — stressing the normally
unaccented beats, often used in Africanderived music.
tempo — the speed at which music is
played.
MLK Celebration • njpac.org
5
Did You Know?
Martin Luther King, Jr. and
the struggle for civil rights
In the late 19th and into the 20th century,
Southern whites had established a system
of authority that protected the privileges
of white society and generated tremendous
suffering for African Americans, controlling
them economically, politically and socially.
This climate characterized the era before
and after the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin was born on January 15, 1929 in
Atlanta, GA. In 1944, at the age of 15,
he was admitted to Morehouse College.
At 19, following graduation from college,
he was ordained as a Baptist minister. In
1953, he married Coretta Scott, and in
1955, he received a doctorate in theology
from Boston University.
Radical changes—Rude awakenings
 The Bus Boycott in Baton Rouge,
LA in 1953 was a mass movement
guided by the United Defense
League in which African-American
citizens banded together to fight the
segregated seating system on city
buses. Though seldom talked about,
historians believe it set the stage for
desegregation in the Deep South
 Brown vs. the Board of Education,
which has come to be known as
the beginning of the Civil Rights
Movement, was the culmination of
an attack on segregation in education
by the NAACP. On May 17, 1954,
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
unanimously that racial segregation in
public schools was unconstitutional.
 A Backlash by pro-segregation groups
throughout the South followed the
court ruling in favor of the NAACP.
African Americans as well as the
few whites who supported the civil
rights cause were killed, maimed and
starved. Among these was the highly
publicized killing and mutilation of
the 14-year-old African-American
Emmet Till, a Northerner visiting
Mississippi.
Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement
 The Montgomery Bus Boycott (19551956), led by Dr. King, was sparked
by the arrest of black seamstress
Mrs. Rosa Parks for refusing to take
her place at the back of a city bus.
The boycott ended with the U.S.
Supreme Court ruling that segregation
on public buses is unconstitutional.
The protest propelled the Civil
Rights Movement into national
consciousness and Martin Luther
King, Jr. into the public eye.
 The philosophy of non-violence
practiced by Indian political leader
Mohandas Gandhi was adopted
by Dr. King after visiting India in
1959. Dr. King, as well as other civil
rights activists and organizations
throughout the U.S., initiated
examples of wide-scale mass
resistance to injustice in the form
of sit-ins, boycotts, marches, and
speeches.
 “The March on Washington for
Jobs and Freedom,” led by Dr. King
in 1963, was the largest civil rights
protest of the era. It was during
this march that Dr. King delivered
his famous “I Have a Dream”
speech that underscored the need
for a society where “people would
be judged not by the color of their
skin, but by the content of their
character.”
 The Civil Rights Act was passed
in 1964, and Dr. King received
the Nobel Peace Prize. However,
brutalities continued in the South.
 The “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
was written by Dr. King during his
imprisonment for participating in a
Birmingham, AL march in 1965. In
summary, the letter stated that he
had come to Birmingham because of
the injustice prevalent there. For Dr.
King, injustice anywhere led to the
possibility of injustice everywhere.
 Dr. King’s last march led him to
Memphis, TN in support of the city’s
African-American sanitation workers.
In a stirring speech on April 13,
1968, he delivered his “I Have Been
to the Mountaintop” sermon. The
following day, an assassin’s bullet
snuffed out his life.
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MLK Celebration • njpac.org
In 1985, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
birthday was designated a national
holiday, celebrated annually on the
third Monday in January. Although the
life of the “dream keeper” has ended,
his legacy and spirit live on, leading
all to a more profound understanding
of the unquestionable need for human
dignity and peace among all people.
In the Classroom
Before the Performance
1. Ask students why Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr.’s birthday is celebrated. What are the things
he stood for? How does this celebration connect
African Americans to their heritage? How does this
celebration connect all Americans to their heritage?
Why do students think that it is important to
remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? (1.2)*
2. Prepare the class for watching a live
performance. Talk about proper audience
behavior. Good audiences listen attentively and
react appropriately to both funny moments and
scary or serious ones. Bad audiences react too
loudly, talk during the performance, fidget in their
seats, eat, drink, or fall asleep. Discuss when it is
appropriate to applaud. Stress that talking during
a performance is rude and distracting both to
performers and others in the audience. (1.1)
After the Performance
1. The following activity is an arts integrated
resource of Verizon’s Thinkfinity.org.
In this lesson, from ReadWriteThink, students
explore the ways that powerful and passionate
words communicate the concepts of freedom,
justice, discrimination, and the American Dream
in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”
speech. Have students pay attention to the details
of King’s speech as they read and as they gather
words to use in their own original poems. The
lesson, which places special emphasis on Dr. King’s
use of literary devices such as symbolism and
repetition, can be accessed at readwritethink.org/
lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=258. (1.1, 1.2, 1.3)
2. Discuss with the students how the songs of
Richard Smallwood helped the audience understand
some of the things for which Dr. King stood.
Verizon’s Thinkfinity.org provides useful links
to the different styles of music that the group
performed, including information on spirituals
from Edsitement at edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/
spirituals. (1.1, 1.2, 1.3)
Teaching Science Through Music
(Grades 6-12)
By Sharon J. Sherman, Ed.D.
Imagination and intuition drive the work of artists, and skill and discipline
turn their ideas and notions into meaningful, quality creations. A similar
case can be made for the work of the scientist who experiences the richness
and excitement of knowing about the world and, with skill and discipline,
understands how it functions.
According to the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards, students in the
middle grades should understand science explanations, generate scientific
evidence through active investigation, reflect on scientific knowledge,
and participate productively in science. These four practices represent the
knowledge and reasoning skills all students must acquire to be proficient in
science.
Here is an activity, incorporating music, that can help students strengthen
their understanding of how scientific knowledge builds upon itself over
time. It enables students to monitor their own thinking as they refine their
comprehension of science concepts (5.1.8.C.1).
Have students in the middle grades predict the acidity of precipitation in the
local area. After collecting data and graphing amounts of precipitation, pH
levels and weather conditions, they can provide scientific evidence to support
or refute their predictions.
After this initial exercise, your students can investigate the effects of rain on
our environment. For example, many marble statues throughout the world are
being ruined by acid rain. Have students search the Internet for examples.
They can create slideshows documenting the effects of acid rain on the
environment and set them to music. Also ask them to research a poem
on environmental responsibility and write an anthem. Performing the
compositions for their peers enables students to analyze and critique their
work together.
High school students studying earth systems science learn that natural
ecosystems provide an array of basic functions that affects humans. In class,
there is instructional focus on the role of human beings as part of the earth’s
ecosystem. Human activities can alter equilibrium in ecosystems, either on
purpose or inadvertently. Students can create podcasts set to music that
provide examples and demonstrate understanding of this concept.
Sharon J. Sherman, Ed.D., is Dean of the School of Education and Professor
of Teacher Education at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J.
The Teaching Science Through the Arts content of this guide is made possible
through the generous support of Roche.
*Number(s) indicate the NJ Core Curriculum
Content Standard(s) supported by the activity.
visit NJPAC.ORG
Find additional resources online at http://tiny.cc/njpacguides
MLK Celebration • njpac.org
7
More Resources
Acknowledgments
Books for Students and Teachers
as of 9/22/11
NJPAC Arts Education programs are made
possible by the generosity of: Bank of America,
The Arts Education Endowment Fund in
Honor of Raymond G. Chambers, Leon &
Toby Cooperman, The Horizon Foundation
for New Jersey, Amy C. Liss, McCrane
Foundation, Merck Company Foundation,
Albert & Katharine Merck, The Prudential
Foundation, PSEG Foundation, Marian &
David Rocker, The Sagner Family Foundation,
The Star-Ledger/Samuel I. Newhouse
Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Verizon,
Victoria Foundation, Wells Fargo, John &
Suzanne Willian / Goldman Sachs Gives and
The Women’s Association of NJPAC.
King, Martin Luther, Jr. Stride Toward
Freedom. Harper & Row, 1958.
–––––––––––––––––––, Strength to Love.
Harper & Row, 1963.
Mfume, Kweisi and Ronald Stodghill II.
No Free Ride. One World/Ballantine,
1997.
Noguera, Pedro. City Schools and the
American Dream. Teachers College Press,
2003.
––––––––––––––. Unfinished Business:
Closing the Racial Achievement Gap in
Our Schools. Jossey-Bass, 2006.
Websites
State of NJ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Commemorative Commission, Trenton.
nj.gov/state/programs/dos_program_mlk.html.
CDs
Richard Smallwood—Recordings with
Vision on the Verity label
Promises. 2011.
Journey: Live in New York. 2007.
Persuaded: Live in D.C. 2001.
Healing: Live in Detroit. 1999.
Adoration: Live in Atlanta. 1996
Additional support is provided by: Advance
Realty, C.R. Bard Foundation, Becton
Dickinson and Company, The Frank and Lydia
Bergen Foundation, Allen & Joan Bildner,
Bloomberg, Ann & Stan Borowiec, Jennifer
Chalsty, Chase, Edison Properties, Veronica
Goldberg Foundation, Meg & Howard Jacobs,
Johnson & Johnson, The MCJ Amelior
Foundation, The New Jersey Cultural Trust,
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts,
Novo Nordisk, Panasonic Corporation of
North America, Pechter Foundation, PNC
Foundation on behalf of the PNC Grow
Up Great program, The Provident Bank
Foundation, E. Franklin Robbins Charitable
Trust, Roche, TD Charitable Foundation
and The Blanche M. & George L. Watts
Mountainside Community Foundation.
DVDs
The Praise and Worship Songs of Richard
Smallwood. Verity, 2003.
visit NJPAC.ORG
Find additional resources online at http://tiny.cc/
njpacguides or scan the QR code displayed here.
For even more arts integration resources, please go
to Thinkfinity.org, the Verizon Foundation’s signature
digital learning platform, designed to improve
educational and literacy achievement.
William J. Marino.……............................…………………………………………………………………….Chairman
John Schreiber.............…....……..................…………………………………..President & Chief Executive Officer
Sandra Bowie………….………........................……………………………………..Vice President of Arts Education
Sanaz Hojreh.……………......................….……..………………………..Assistant Vice President of Arts Education
Chamie Baldwin Graff.............….………............……………................…Director of Marketing, Arts Education
Caitlin Evans Jones…………..........................……….………………………….…Director of In-School Programs
Jeff Griglak......………......................……………….………………………………..……..Director of Arts Training
Constance Collins........…….….........................Administrative Assistant and Office Manager for Arts Education
Laura Ingoglia…………........................….……………………....…………....Editor of Teacher’s Resource Guides
Linda Fowler..…………........................…….…………………....…………....Editor of Teacher’s Resource Guides
8
MLK Celebration • njpac.org
One Center Street
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Administration: 973 642-8989
Arts Education Hotline: 973 353-8009
artseducation@njpac.org
Photos of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. on pages 3 and 6 courtesy of the
King family collection
Writers: Zadia Ife
Laura Ingoglia
Mary Lou Johnston
Linda Fowler
Editor: Linda Fowler
Design: Pierre Sardain
66 Creative, Inc.
66Creative.com
NJPAC Guest Reader:
Sanaz Hojreh
NJPAC Teacher’s Resource Guide
Review Committee:
Judith Israel
Mary Lou Johnston
Amy Tenzer
Copyright © 2012
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
All Rights Reserved