By: Jenevive Won '26
Monday, January 20, Cate School’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day started in the theatre with Oyin Opawumi’s ‘26 empowering acapella performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (also known as the Black National Anthem). After, Cate students and faculty heard from guest speaker Chef Marlon Alexander, who discussed his remarkable journey to success as a black man in the food industry and then engaged in diverse workshops, performances, and conversations. This year’s theme of “breaking bread,” was chosen to highlight food insecurity around the world, as well as the power of food in bringing people together.
Along with the guest speaker and the powerful words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered by Ms. Peterson, Cate’s Multicultural Programming Coordinator, Ethan Gibson ‘25 and Kai Johnson ‘28 delivered a powerful poem by Yutopia Essex, and the Jazz Band and Cate Dance Company performed pieces such as a step dance and a melodious interlude. In addition to these performances, CEO of Santa Barbara Foodbank Erik Talkin spoke about the often overlooked issue of food insecurity on the local level, which aligned with the idea of social injustice - the recurring theme of the day.
In a slightly different approach from previous years, students from different parts of the community were given the opportunity to co-lead this year’s workshops. For example, Fiona Pan ‘27 and Stella Rogers ‘25 led “Food Culture and Immigration History,” while HLA Club heads led “‘More than Grapes”: César Chávez, Dr. King, and the Fight for Justice,” discovering the legacy of César Chávez and the connections between his non-violent principles and Martin Luther King Jr.’s activism. Marcus Sudder ‘25 partnered with Yutopia Essex to lead a workshop, “From Freedom to Famine,” unpacking various civil rights movements. When asked about what made him want to take on this responsibility, Scudder responded, “I wanted to learn more about MLK and the history of African Americans. This gave me a chance to be more educated on the subject and also teach others. I wanted to bring the community together and be able to show tragedies that happened in our past and today. This gave me a chance to open my eyes and view life differently in a way of protecting others for each passing day.” Similarly, Ms. Salcedo partnered with Ms. Henderson and Dr. Sintetos to educate students on “food deserts” and the effects of redlining in this country by using mathematics skills such as Desmos. When asked about her experience, Ms. Salcedo said, “I would love for us to have more opportunities to work across departments to plan interdisciplinary classroom experiences. It was so cool to watch students come up with different ways to use what they know about math to visualize what might constitute a food desert.” She also added, “My dream would be to one day offer a full course in using math to explore, understand, and respond to social injustices.”
The workshops were followed by an engaging community conversation reviewing the topics and ideas along with further questions about the theme. The day was closed with the Chorale’s performance of the anthem of the United Farm Workers movement, “De Colores” which honors the lasting legacy of César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, circling back to the topics of food insecurity and activism.
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