Exploratory Tefillah Students Learn about MLK Day with the Firsthand Account of a Ramaz Security Guard

In preparation for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, the Exploratory Tefillah service hosted a special guest, the beloved security guard Willie. Willie shared that he grew up in Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960s, where he could not walk on the same side of the street as white children. He went to a school without heat or hot water, and where he was called "boy" and not by his first name. Instead of resentment, Willie grew to value kindness and justice. In contrast to how he was treated growing up, he does the exact opposite at Ramaz: greeting each student by name every single day with positive energy and a big smile. Willie also spoke movingly about Dr. King and his tremendous influence to change laws and end segregation in the deep South and around the country. As Willie said, "We are forever grateful to Dr. King."