Cinnaminson High School hosted its first Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration in the library on January 31st during lunch. The luncheon was organized and planned by the Equity Committee comprised of Mr. Ryan Gorman, Ms. Monique Bouggess, and Ms. Kim Mauroff.  The event covered King’s idea of a beloved community and how it can be achieved with love and non-violence.

“We realized at the end of the planning process that all of this really is just for us to move forward in order for Cinnaminson High School and hopefully the district to become that beloved community,” Bouggess said.

The planning process began by visiting The King Center website, which was created by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s wife, Coretta Scott King. Bouggess explained how the organization has a variety of information available on his teachings, lesson plans, and more.

Using the original lessons from the website, Bouggess said she and members of the affinity groups worked together to add to the The King Center’s lesson plans for a more engaging and participation-based experience.

With the addition of affinity groups in the 2021-2022 academic year, this event was the first of several in celebration of Black History Month at CHS. Leader of the Black Student Union and the Young Men of Color affinity group, senior Joel Blamon says these changes are a big turning point for the Cinnaminson community.

“I feel like this is a step forward towards black recognition or people of color being recognized in Cinnaminson,” Blamon noted.

Leader of the Hispanic and Latinx and member of the women’s affinity group sophomore Bella De Carvalho said she sees this change at the high school level as positive since it allows people to express their thoughts openly.

“I’m just glad that here we’re starting to have more things to actually make people feel included… I think it’s like a really huge step that we took and it actually needed to be done,” De Carvalho said.

Madison Yoerke, a member of the LGBTQ affinity group, enjoyed how the event allowed students to participate freely in a welcoming environment.

“The most memorable was definitely when a lot of students were sharing how they felt,” Yoerke said. “I feel like that was very important.”