my name is barbara watson and i'm the current share of the belmont human rights commission i'd like to introduce and welcome principal danielle richards of the belmont high school to present a greeting always encouraged in and energized by the chardon of so many members of our community i think it is critical that we used to come together every year to regroup and recharge ourselves and our mission continuing dr king's dream anyone who has opened a history book or pays attention to winter holidays has heard of dr king often abbreviated as m l k day this day is set aside each year in january to honor a civil rights leader who gave his life in the middle of an attempt to see his i have a dream speech for phil because dr king was not able to fulfill his dream is a great responsibility and importance they each of us look inward and live that during poor him dr king's efforts ignited a national revolution of social justice while at the same time maintain harmony and peace through his actions we must be reminded that great things come from patience and harmony and not from violence aggression and destruction if dr king were here today i am confident that he would share his wisdom and remind us to stay the course don't get discourage lead by example and you will eventually succeed as you leave here today please pause for a moment to remember dr king's philosophies and practices not only will his dream remain alive for generations to come but this world will be a kinder more accepting place for all at this time i'd like to introduce reverend jane the co pastor of the belmont watertown united methodist church who will give today's complication thank you god of all people and all faith god of all dreams we are gathered this morning to remember and honor the dream that you had dreamed through the life and witness of reverend dr martin luther king jr we remember the dream that brought and still brings justice and dignity to all your children we honored to dream that broke and still breaks the barriers of injustice and oppression and the worlds of hatred and division we celebrate a dream that imagined and still imagines a human community bless all of us here and all others everywhere who are gathered this morning to share our common struggle for justice and peace bless us with the gift of your compassion so that we can share the suffering of those who still have to struggle for you quality and dignity as we remember the dream of the dr king help us dream once again with our eyes open in our hands ready to expand the circle of the beloved community here in belmont and in all the corners of your world around us once again in your presence and renu in us to divine courage to walk faithfully in the work all that lead to overcome fear with love hate with forgiveness thank you reverend chang and thank you mr richards there is there is some space available over to the front right of the other tory m if anyone needs a seat again my name is barbara watson it is my great pleasure to welcome you here today on behalf of myself the belmont human rights commission and belmont against racism and the belmont religious council and to our many generous partners who are listed in the program we're here to celebrate and reflect on the values of dr martin luther king to seek and preserve social justice and equality and to celebrate community as reverend king said we cannot walk alone today's breakfast is the result of the generosity of many people and organizations please see the names of all of the of the conveners sponsors donors and volunteers who are listed in the program in particular however i would like to thank dave rogers who helped the program commit with our speaker selection and i would also like us all to give a great banks to pick up bakery kid brother has provided most of the dessert breakfast pastries on the and is extremely generous to this event each year thank you also to all of you who have helped to we fail to list in the program you know who you are thank you also today's guest speakers state senator sagna chang d s of boston she is falling tearing her time today to be with us thank you also to the many other public servants who gather with us today for their time today and for their service every day would you please stand when i call your name and if i and then i have been called your name please stand anyway also please hold your applause till i have the opportunity to name everybody u s representative katherine clark is to join us today thank you so much state senator william bro state representative david rogers peter holland is here also today thank you finally i wonder if you would join with me in a round of applause for belmont against racism its current board members and all of its prior members many of whom are here today but has been reminding this community for over twenty years how important diversity in respect are to all of us last year bar celebrated its twentieth anniversary this year we celebrate the twentieth annual martin luther king community breakfast because bar and its volunteers have provided it to us please join me in thanking the current and past members about month against racism for all that they have given us over the past twenty years past and daniel would look to the future as santiago said those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it i should point out it's probably obvious to all that  that we are the youngest and oldest members of the human rights commission and let you figure out which is which showing that all ages are united in remembering that on every nelson mandela like martin luther king was one of the great historic figures of the twentieth century as a leader of the never ending march toward equality for all human beings mandela believed in and practiced reconciliation not retribution of the jews compassion not anger  like dr king nelson mandela is a testament to the power of the human spirit passionate and principled he set his mind on freedom and was unafraid to take action against the status quo it seemed that the whole world was against him yet mandela stood strong in the face of discrimination and brutality unwavering through all those years in prison when progress seemed impossible these roadblocks forced him into an even more exceptional voice for equality mandela had the extraordinary courage to fight violence with peace inspiring thousands from every background to stand united and the journey for change slowly but surely distant dreams transformed into reality and mandela became south africa's guiding light of hope and possibility now that south africa leads its continent and liberty growth and innovation mandela's work will forever serve as a reminder to the world that true power doesn't come from force but rather compassion humanity and tolerance persistent and determined mandela took charge of the future of his people demanded change and made a profound and lasting difference in the lives of millions showing our world the way to a brighter future of equality and justice for all doesn't mandela proves that one person really can change the world thank you paul and daniel thank you also too high cost up ian on the violin and on the hob ban on the piano hog is the ninth grade student at belmont high school and the son of human rights commission member share our we'll take a very short break here to let parents take their children to the daycare room across the hall and for the older children to leave with mr dixon mariya and his many helpers with the students helping mr some area raise their hands and it go to the back of the cafeteria this might be a nice moment to refresh your coffee and say hello to a neighbor we will begin in a few minutes she is now a sophomore how proud i have been the co chair for boston belmont parent group for nine years and i saw a member of barr i would like to thank you all for being present at this celebration in honor of dr martin luther king jr a phenomenal civil rights leader who dreamed up equal lety acceptance and justice for all your presence and kindness in support of allows our children to participate in activities in addition to building relationships with children and the belmont district today i am hon is the latino elected to the massachusetts state senate she is serving a third term on behalf of the coptic district which is part of the many b dorchester jamaica plain high park mattapan mission hill roslindale roxbury and the south bend prior to being and the elected official senator was a public school teacher in the when in boston school systems she learned firsthand the challenges facing our public school students teachers and parents and the role our state government can play in improving our educational system sen chain dia's is a well honest and tenacious champion for the boys let us she is widely recognized for low income and immigrant communities and for those affected by foreclosure hate crimes in youth violence she has also been a strong voice for sound fiscal reform in good stewardship of taxpayer dollars chair of the joint committee on the education on education and she also serves as a member of the joint committee on children families and persons with disabilities municipalities and regional government tourism arts and cultural development and public safely in homeland security and the senate committee on bonding capital export insurance and state assets amazing adults with mental illness to foster children in was her father an immigrant to the new to the united states from coast to rica was our country's first latin american astronaut her sister is a teacher and her grandfather has been recognized as one of the country's most committed girl doctors senator chang dia's is a loving wife a wonderful new mom and a parishioner at st mary of the angels parish in roxbury where we worship in day with and i understand that i have to thank him for that so we'll see i hope i make him look good you know martin luther king day is a big day in my district and it is a really extreme honor to be dr king and we think of among other things the great oratory in church and i see that actually is on your program for just after my time and i'm glad i'm going after a announcements at the end of church or offer a prayer during person the faithful i'm just blown away by her poise and thoughtfulness and i think about what incredible parenting must be going on in that household and so it's a particular as a new as a new mom i take a special pride in being introduced by shannon who must be such an incredible parent to have produced such an incredible  daughter and i also want to say a special thanks to my colleagues from the state house right project recently although no longer my colleague in the state house i'm glad to say it now congresswoman visit i did what i what i think is you know sort of the standard thing that you do now when you're going to go on a date with somebody you google them and i hear you i took the liberty of looking you guys up and trying to learn a little bit about the conveners of this morning's breakfast to get a better sense of what drives this community and i came away with this incredible just collage of work and intense knowledge that's going on here in belmont the one against racism i learned was founded in the wake of the one thousand nine hundred two los angeles race riots to address the issue of racism and prejudice in your own backyard under the philosophy of think globally act locally so refreshing to see  professional leadership and voluntary citizen action the development of quality integrated educational opportunities for suburban students and students from great of boston the bummer public schools whose mission is to work to create a community and again this is directly in their own words to grid a community of engaged learners who contribute to the common good and are of service to others such a simple mission statement are so powerful that it really focuses on the common good and service to others this is the stuff that makes the machine go generally middle school p t o doing the unglamorous but so so valuable work of midwife in a school community into being you know this is fundraising grant writing  events for new parents staff appreciation activity is planning safe routes to school for students this is again the stuff that makes the machinery go of creating a school community so this this is a collage to me of just values made common and simple but meaningful way is a collage of people taking action it's a collage that i think dr king would have been very proud to look upon and i have to ask you doesn't it make you feel proud to hear this work as this mr that i see of your town is also in keeping with something that is something else that i see these days that i think will make dr king proud in recent years and many of you will be aware of this there's been a movement to expand dr martin luther king j powerful words there commemorating dr king's life with action and with service and as i watch this moment this movement gain steam there's this one phrase that keeps repeating in my mind it's the african proverb when you pray move your feet and even though this thing was not his dr king's life shouted out this philosophy when you pray move your feet if you burn keenly for an ideal move your feet and i think that if dr king were here with us today he would urge us still when you remember me move your feet and this proverb of course does not need to refer simply to religious prayer it can mean if you have hopes for change move your feet and the idea of moving your feet of being the change you wish to see in the world was also captured in another beautiful  way and a challenging way also almost exactly a year ago from today during president obama's second inaugural address the president observed during that speech that while the truths and values upon which our country responded  lf and they have never been self executing i love this one i love this line i instantly did it when he said in the speech i love people who get this idea in their d n a and their way of being  although i don't know many of you at our share table this morning i suspect that your work precedes you and i suspect you're the people who get it and don't expect our ideals to be self executing it's why you're here today observing dr king's legacy it's why i'm here today it's why i ran for office why are other elected officials running for office it's why some of the young people in the room i suspect that there are been moments when you might have stood up for someone on the bus being bullied while i'm sure many of you in the past month have shifted some of the i'd walk for an elderly neighbor down the street john it's why you probably spend late hours checking home and early hours preparing ashley for her day and her long bus ride to and from school it's  why some of you in this room i suspect most parents why you do things like other parents to advocate for michael funding year after year even though it would surely be easier for them not to give a less complete education to its sons and daughters while you volunteer at the bomb tree while you register your neighbor to vote educators why you choose the career of being an educator and students why you study hard so that you can make great contributions to the world in the future so i say it all of the students the teachers the parents administrators commission members volunteers all of you in this room this morning simply don't stop keep those feet moving we are on the right path together and let's pull each other along in past years  pieces tables this morning is a beautiful passage it was revolutionary in its time and it gave his fellow activists many of whom were teenagers just like some of the students in the room today that gave them an ultimate goal to set their sights upon but since i've been an elective office in the speaker it's not new of course it's a it's been with us for a while but a line that was new to my attention is the first one  doctor his vision i had a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its it's a line that describes a nation on its feet a nation  lives out its ideals by taking action and it's a line that it's not just the envisioned but the first step on how to get there just get up on your feet in the first place for the first step to very and very far from the end because when i first ran for office eight years ago i started out on a street and on my first campaign door knocking with a clipboard and a pencil literally you know headquarters had about two volunteers had very little money in the bank last week i cast a vote on the senate floor to expand voting rights in our state it's a great feeling similarly my dad came to this country as you heard a little bit from john he came to this country from central america and he had fifty dollars in his pocket and he came on a one way ticket and he went on to become the nation's first latino obama started out as a community organizer no doubt slogging through volunteer recruitment calls and gathering petition signatures i'm sure some of our members of the legal and legal women voters know about that and now he's the president of the united states and he is setting agendas making decisions pursuing changes in national policy that are going to affect generations to come and of course not least on this list imagine how far away from his and goal d king must have felt when he described that vision of little black boys and little girls being able to join hands with little white boys and little white girls after seeing in his time civil rights protesters mowed down with fire hoses and teenagers being heckled and threatened by mobs as they sought to walk to the front door of a building like this in little rock when he began dr king started out with nothing but  spoken word in a small church in alabama i think age of twenty five and we all know the path that he set the whole country upon and how far we've come along that path today so in honor of dr king's legacy when you pray or when you  ct on where we're going to you want to be and what you want the world to look like just move your feet thank you very much a little bit so that there's a few things off the top of my head but i would also invite my colleagues in government if they have reflections on this and i'm going to pull you into my answer off the top my head but so a few things one the repeating that i think cause such an important example of that unified work between suburban and urban communities in our state and with a real recognition that it is a mutually beneficial program and that it this isn't just about charity for kids from the inner city and that this is a program that really strengthens both communities so keep up the good work you're doing there is one that i would say you know i'm not there is in this is congresswoman to so that you can know what's going on in state government and in the federal government what is coming up the prospect of lee as well as what has recently happened this is a constant frustration i hear from constituents in my district where for example the voting rights bill that we just passed in the senate on thursday of this past week you know i with with due respect to any members of the media in the room i have a big bone to pick with the globe on this one the day after that bill was passed in the senate which is major new election right voting rights legislation in our state make you know if this gets all the way the governor's desk and he signs it which i hope he will we could have early voting in massachusetts election day registration  for the news story and how another headline about how the ways and means chairman is not going to see wheel action also where the story no headline nothing no news about the election law bill which i think is a real disservice to people out there like yourself who want to work in common cause with others around the state who really care about legislation like that but you don't know what's coming or you don't know that it happened so you know my my end run around that is to get on the e mail west of your folks your representatives in government so that you can know what's coming and hold us accountable and be in communication with us about what you want to make sure that we're taking up so that other quick thing that i would just highlight for you and well also to to commend your attention one is the issue of gun safety legislation in the wake of the newtown tragedy last year there was a big spike in attention and willingness to take on the issue of gun safety in our state where we have some of the best gun laws in the nation but we still have some holes in them that can do a strengthening and my hope is that before the session is over that we will take that idea and put it into action but it's going to require more pressure from the outside and i think that's a place where suburban and urban communities could really work together to keep the pressure up then the last one i would say is causing the state as a whole to have an adult conversation about revenue reform because so many of the things that we need to do that i think are very righteous causes in my in my district and that i hear often from residents like yourself more of a community is that you care about whether it's homelessness are adequately funding our education system or substance abuse treatment all of these things do require resources and right now we're just you know we're fighting over each little slice of the pie and have seen that shrinking over the last twenty thirty years so it's something that that's a big that's a big item but i want to commend it to your attention so i hope that answers your second on this day when we are celebrating diversity i wanted to ask you about the genocide education bill which i think was or has been before the joint committee on education would you co chair  such a bill is so important to teach society and future generations of the injustices that certain diverse cultures have faced so that those injustices are never repeated again in the future can you please give us an update sure and and i want to maybe ask for a quick clarification because i know that this is a question that i was talking with it the other gentleman there at the microphone with the earlier there are actually a few different bills concerning genocide and that are before the education committee and i just want to make sure i'm addressing the one that you are interested in ok the one i am talking about is the one that would that would require education in public schools  injustice and genocide genocide broadly categorise yes ok so the current status quo in massachusetts and usually status quo comes with a negative connotation right where i was trying to change the status quo actually this is a good one where i'm glad to report that the massachusetts curriculum framework said that govern what the curriculum should be and all of our public schools already do require that genocide be taught in our public schools  so the follow up question that i that i would ask in this case i'm a turn to the principal is i'm not sure what the practices in belmont but what the what the the curriculum frameworks sort of leave to the local communities is to decide exactly how they will teach genocide you know what examples throughout history they may draw upon and we don't specify that in in the statute in the in laws right now so do i do you mind if i draw you into this is there is there a particular and maybe there's a history teacher that i should actually direct this question to but do you know how much is to implement this mandate in the curriculum framework right history department in that they get together and they collaborate in how they're going to approach it they do a similar approach and so that we have common susman so go with it so we tackle it with the social studies department and we also  the teachers come together with the techniques and how we're going to talk about it and how to actually have essential questions around it so there is a focus on it and we do take a collaborative approach central questions around it  specifics to it i can't speak to i wish the source of so as director was here but there is a collaborative effort that we do focus on it like i said with essential questions and so you do see a common teachings throughout our classes i hope that helps i don't get here what do you do when you hear that young african american men are being profiled because of their music and how do you address or or find out more information or address or concern would you go to your legislator what are what are your recommendations can you tell me a little more about the the context in which you're hearing about this or profile you know particularly with respect to music american swimming with respect to rap music i mean i heard about this song or just caught the tail end of a local talk show and i just was concerned in it sounds like this is something that's very new even to you and wanted to find out more about it because it was so disturbing so what was  the consequence for the you know when they're there or what you know to drive in their car walking down the street listening to rap music and then what happens just just in terms of long foresman looking at this as of tendency towards violence and it's i really can't be more specific than that but to me that is a cultural issue that i'm concerned about that kind of interpretation and so i don't know if you are aware of this or if it is an issue how do you find out more so the issue of racial profiling certainly is one that is on my radar so my question was more around what's the sound like there's a subset that's put you know particularly will say that some people who contests that that happens you know that racial profiling and law enforcement efforts have been i am a believer that it does happen and look i'll be the first to say that i think every one of us in this room has the capacity to be guilty you know black brown yellow purple whatever color we are has the capacity to be guilty of profiling in different ways i mean i guess i'll say as a former social studies teacher i really had to look myself in the mirror when i came to the rate at which i called on male versus female students  we see a lot of data that teachers she know even the most you know art feminists among us engage in profiling behaviors that we wouldn't choose who are thinking about it rationally so a lot of that you know so i have a bill that i have filed for a few sessions now that's to do with racial profiling in the context of traffic stops currently in massachusetts if you receive if you're given a citation a traffic ticket the officer is required to fill out some data about the perceived race or ethnicity of the person who's receiving the ticket but there's a we haven't looked at that data in many many years so in some cases it's just sort of getting you know put in a shoe box in a closet somewhere so when we need to hold up the mirror to ourselves and see what are we doing  but also there's a big hole in our requirements and that we don't require that racial profiling data that be collected in the case of stops that don't result in a ticket and that's a big that's a big subset of data that we're missing right now to even find out and i think many  departments might be pleasantly surprised to find that their efforts sensitivity training and diversity training have approved their or their numbers over the years but we need to establish a baseline to even know could get and we have some autographed books for her being marked by john lewis who has also autographed thank you thank you very much we have a great place here right now  and we have a lot of special guests here today but we're also honor with the presence of congresswoman katherine clarke and she's not on the program but i'd love to have her come and say hello to everybody and i have been so fortunate in my career to have so many inspirational people to work with but dave rogers will brownsburg and paul say all of them have taught me so much more about what it means to take a town of belmont and turn it into a community and that's what the reverend martin luther king means to me and  have completed my first six days in congress i have actually found my way from the rayburn office building to the house floor by myself and i political worlds i don't get very tongue tied meeting other politicians except when i met john lewis on the floor of the house and to shake hands and to have the opportunity to serve with a civil rights leader an american who defines spare me what it means to stand up for our values was really one of those extremely awkward moments where i just sort of studdard and turned red and i'm sure he wonders what my issue is but to have that privilege this chance to represent belmont in the fifth congressional district as we continue to work to have our country as sanju said that when we pray for our values however whatever faith or belief you have and how you do that that we move our feet and that we continue to work for as specially addressing the disparity of wealth in this country and for me the answer  is what so many of you here already know it's education and it's creating the opportunity for higher education for every single child no matter what their zip code no matter what their family's income that is the work that i look forward to partnering with the align that is the work of john lewis and the reverend martin luther king that is the work of sagna and david and will of your selectman of your school committee of your police of so many of you who are here volunteer and this is an incredible crowd to see put together and i feel incredibly privileged to be a representative in congress i look forward to working with all  this country does rise to the values and the standard its separate self thank you so much for having me what a treat we've had today thank you again and congresswoman i feel bad for ashley because everyone saying she would be a tough act to follow but between the senator and the congresswoman i think she will have a tough act to follow but she will do it wonderfully next i'd like to introduce our sophomore at belmont high school ashley towns they do it every time thank you ashley you have awakened us my name's katie platt and i'm on the board of belmont against racism and it is very thrilling to stand up in front of you on the twentieth anniversary of the m l k breakfast i am pretty sure that there is there are many people here who have been here every one of those twenty years and so i salute you and and admire your commitment to this community i'm here to tell you a little bit it says update in the in the green program i'm going to tell you a little bit about the medco support fund up until a few years ago it was called the transportation fund so if i were going to sing a song right now it would be the wheels on the bus go round and round that they could participate in every one of the after school operations that the belmont school system provides and  that has been a success and in fact this fine we now call it the belmont support fund because we've been able to with your help and your generosity expand our our funding to include many act after school activities and other programs which help to  a much richer more complex more interesting and integrated babb rick that includes all of the school children who come to the belmont schools so for example in the elementary schools the medco support fine supports a mentoring program which matches one on one kids coming from boston to a staff member faculty member that's a one on one relationship and that pair keeps in touch they often would meet early at the breakfast or after school and so those relationships get nurtured very early on in the elementary school also program afterschool programs in the elementary schools such as mad science summer reading party crowds and gardening lots and lots of different programs or one time events all of those help to sort of weave that fabric that's going to continue to flower in the middle school we've been able to or you've been able to with your generosity support social studies trips including a recent trip to washington d and as you know it is very very important that every kid have the opportunity to go on such a trip that is bottom line and then of course the high school y perhaps familiar with our long standing late bus and but if you're not i'll just let you know that this bus is guaranteed to boston students a late in the day from high school it's a door to door transportation offering sometimes it's a van and sometimes it's a taxi but any boston student who wants to stay to get academic support participate in clubs sports or are hanging out with friends can get door to door transportation and of course this is very important for the well being of the kid who is traveling the well being of all of the people in belmont who get to enjoy those relationships in the peace of mind of the parents so that's a win w win we also this this fund also supports enrichment programs and other activities in the high school so across the board mentioned that this fund is administered by the school department janet darrius the assistant superintendent has taken on the administrative task and it's not you know it's no small thing in that we're very grateful for that so on your table you'll see a manila envelope and if you happen to have your checkbook or cash we would love you to put something in that manila envelope i think katherine is holding it up and in a few minutes she and steve will come around and and pick them up if you prefer we also have pledge cards on the table you if you wish to you could fill that out and put it in the manila envelope or take it home and send it back to us with a pledge there are white envelopes with our address belmont against racism address that you can mail a check and a pledge to us that way so please consider  moving your feet so to speak or move in your wheels keep the wheels on the bus going round and round and once again i just like to thank everybody for thick support and generosity in the past that's allowed this fund to grow and expand and include more people in the embrace of this wonderful community that i see before me today so thank you very much the plymouth congregational church in belmont and after that benediction will have one more song the words of which are in your program and ashley will be leading us in that song so again i please continue to write your generous checks but we will move on with the program he did but the main thing he did was he inspired people to show up inspired a woman from massachusetts to come down to washington d c in march he inspired young men and women in birmingham to feast dogs and fire hoses in order to get the equality that they deserve and so i want to thank you for showing up and as you continue to show up he studied here in boston for a while are you and there is another great boston preacher who said something philip bro said something that i think really applies to our lives as we try to live out this call and definitely dr king who never prayed for an easy life he always created for the strength and the courage to do what was right and the quote is do not pray for easy lives pray to be stronger men do not pray for tasks equal to your powers pray for powers equal to your tasks in the doing of your work shall be but you yourself shall be america and every day you shall wonder at yourself at the richness of life that has come to you by the grace of god so i leave you with these words do not pray for easy life pick up your cross go thank you very much we are going to end the program with a sing along we're a group led by ashley townsend the works are at the table if there is time i'd like to ask all the student volunteers whether you were musicians or other volunteers thank you so much ashley that was wonderful thank you thank you everyone who participated today again if there are any but my play school students the children should be returning shortly if there are any belmont high school students could you quickly come over to