Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
PORTALES — On a day commemorating a civil rights legend and the progress he created, the message in one Portales Junior High School classroom was simple: Building understanding by communicating with others, regardless of differences.
Draco Miller, speaking on behalf of the Portales Martin Luther King Commission, presented a message of peace and understanding to junior high students Monday morning for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
"Bullying, violence among your peers, violence among people that you don't know - that's not cool. That's not going to get you anywhere but where you don't want to be," he said. "When you're faced with a situation, think about, 'how can I communicate?' That's the cool person. That's the person that you should try to emulate. That's the person that you should try to get everyone to be. That's the person that's gonna make a difference. That's the person that's living up to the expectations and the characteristics of Dr. Martin Luther King."
To enforce King's ideology, Miller asked the class to stand up, address someone they did not know and pledge that they would be friendly toward the person if they saw them in the hall.
"Do you know why we did that? Because guess what: You cannot hate that which you know, and if you know and begin to know one another, then you begin to communicate with one another, and if you're communicating with one another, then eventually you guys will begin to respect one another and be on the same page," he said.
Seventh grader Elijah Pritchett, 12, said he found inspiration in the selfless nature of King's movement.
"He thought of helping somebody else and putting them before himself. I think I can help people. I like to fix problems that people have, and I like putting others before myself," said Pritchett.
Seventh grader Cali Walker, also 12, admired that King dared to question the 'status quo' mentality the U.S. once had about segregation and racism.
"I said earlier in the class that the United States was a melting pot originally, and people started forgetting that and started discriminating on sexuality, race, the way people look, and he went, 'hey, wait. Why are you doing this?'" she said.
Of the class' reception to his presentation, Miller had a unique description.
"This is gonna sound kind of funny, but I got the Oprah Winfrey 'a-ha moment'; when you're speaking to them and the light bulb goes off in one of their minds, you can just see it all over their face," he said. "It's (King's message) great for all people; not just for African Americans, not just for New Mexicans, but for all people, and to try to live up to the legacy that Dr. Martin Luther King left is profound."
