Building Link To Mlk Students String Peace Chain To Carry On Civil Rights Legacy

Some 1,200 messages of peace were linked Thursday as fifth-graders celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

On chains made from colored paper, students each wrote a message, such as “smile on your brother and sister,” and “let there be peace.” The Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls students joined those chains until they stretched all the way around North Idaho College’s Schuler Auditorium.

The peace chain was part of the 15th annual celebration at the college, honoring the life of the civil rights leader. It was sponsored by the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.

“We now challenge you to live your words,” Pam Pratt, principal of Fernan Elementary School, told the students as they prepared to return to school buses.

Human rights advocates place special importance on this event, considering the racist reputation stamped upon North Idaho by the presence of the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist group based near Hayden Lake. The group has marched through downtown Coeur d’Alene during the past two summers.

Since it formed in 1981, the task force has been attempting to counter the Aryans’ message. The task force has held a series of events honoring King since Congress declared King’s birthday a national holiday in the mid-1980s.

The first children who attended this program are now 25 years old, said Tony Stewart, a member of the task force. “That is a very major event for children in fifth grade,” he said. “It will go with them through their lives.”

The theme for the day on Thursday was “Smile on your brother and sister,” similar to the lyrics from the 1960s song, “Get Together,” by the Youngbloods. (“C’mon people now, smile on your brother, ev’rybody get together, try to love one another right now.”)

That song was played on loudspeakers as the children walked in, and it was sung by Chris Hammons, principal of Lakes Middle School, and his son, Garren, a Fernan fifth-grader. Jim Lien, principal of Woodland Middle School, accompanied them on guitar.

More messages of peace and hope were conveyed as a student from each school walked up on stage and read an essay inspired by King’s writings.

“On Earth we are all brothers and sisters,” said Laura Denning of Dalton Elementary.

“As leaders of the 21st century, we can encourage human dignity,” said Laura Gonzalez of Seltice Elementary.

“It doesn’t matter what the color of your skin is, it’s what’s inside of you that counts,” said Robyn Lieggi of Fernan.

Folklorist Ted Hutchinson of Tacoma told a story about sharing and cooperation, then led the children in a chant:

“I will, from sunup to sundown,

treat other people as my friend,

I won’t judge, tease or hurt,

I will respect the beauty in others,

I will be ready to help,

And always to care for other people,

I will do my very best in every way,

So Dr. King and his dream will never, ever die.

I will be like Dr. King for a day,

every day,

for the rest of my life.”

Exchange students from Russia and Germany also performed for the students, singing songs and reading speeches.

Eike Nicklas, a German exchange student at Sandpoint High School, relayed his memories of when, as a young boy in 1989, he experienced the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and rejoining of East and West Germany.

“It is one of the most important things that people have their freedom,” Nicklas said. “Don’t ever forget this.”

IDAHO HEADLINE: A link to the civil rights giant