Arshay Cooper, this year’s keynote speaker, then spoke about his childhood living in the westside of Chicago and how it shaped his life and dedication to activism today. He walked us through his tumultuous experience of being recruited into the first all-black rowing team and sticking with it despite stereotypes and the harshness of the sport. I had read his award winning book “A Most Beautiful Thing” over winter break and was delighted to get another chance to hear his voice, now in real life. As a rower here at Groton, his anecdotes about his time on and off water perfecting his skill really stuck with me. He spoke to everyone personally no matter our gender, sport, or background. Fifth and Sixth Forms heard from him in a Q&A after lunch and talked to us more about leadership, how to make a change in our own communities, and how to stay resilient through the hardest times.
Then the Essence Step team danced a wonderful combination of hip hop followed by step. As the music from the hip hop portion faded out, step filled the entire room with body percussion.
Finally, as part of the poetry club, we recited 7 poems that we had written and workshopped last week for the occasion. Below is mine:
August 28, 1963,
he spoke to a lake of 250,000 souls
Turned them to a river, rushing and flowing to make a change.
On the shoulders of the past, he shone,
Imparted to the world his dreams
A world that had sworn to never listen to him
He stepped up on the podium
The podium of the capital–the place of action
And demanded justice from places that were promised a century ago.
He spoke of light and duty, marching forward with
No more excuses, no lowering of standards, no more.
Because if he could
Speak despite fear
Speak despite silence
Speak despite those who wouldn’t listen.
His dreams would change them.
They listened
and spoke back
in his mindset of fearlessness, voice, power
And never stopped
Freedom is still ringing in the ears
of those who listen.
In the afternoon there was also an amazing panel with groton alumni Kevin Griffith ‘80, also a trustee, and Nailah-Imani Pierce ‘18, which focused on sports and identity.
This day was so memorable for all the anecdotes and memories that the various speakers shared. Their lessons were based not in words but images of self-discovery and perseverance to remember forever, whether it be Mr. Cooper's eagle in a chicken coop finally seeing another eagle in the sky or Nailah running 3 miles after missing her bus stop.