After numerous conversations with our School’s Diversity and 包容 Council, our Center for Engagement, and the Virginia Diversity Network, we wanted to provide an opportunity for students to focus on honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy through seeking justice and a healthy community. 而博士. King is known for many things, including his activism, 全球影响, and nonviolent protests, his concept of the Beloved 社区 is one that stood out to us as a theme. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, Dr. King and many other Civil Rights leaders realized that, while legal change had occurred, social change was still not happening. So, in 1966 he penned an essay for Ebony Magazine titled “Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom.” In his essay, Dr. 国王说:

This is just as true today as it was in the 1960s, and it is why we chose to title our conference Beloved 社区 RVA!
It is our hope that we can gather Middle and Upper independent school students from across the Greater Richmond area to contemplate the question What can we do to further Dr. King’s dream of this Beloved 社区?