Cultural Event Paper One

Tch&Lrn 301

Taylor Manrique

Washington State University

 The event I attended was the 30th Annual Martin Luther King Community Celebration,

which took place on January 26, 2017 in the CUB. The event opened with a performance from

God’s Harmony Gospel Choir, who also closed the event with a song. Then, students ranging

from first grade to seniors in college, were rewarded for their artwork as a contribution to Arts

for Social Change. Three students from Pullman elementary schools were given awards, as well

as four WSU students. After, awards were given to community organizations and some

individuals for their service and contribution to the community; one of them being Family

Promise of the Palouse. For the main portion of the event, the key speaker, Charlene Carruthers,

talked about her involvement as the national director of the Black Youth Project 100. Not only is

she an activist for black lives and women’s rights, but she is also a supporter of the LGBT

community, being a queer woman herself. There are many things that I learned from Charlene

and this event. I learned more about Dr. King’s legacy and it’s not exactly what people think it

was. I also learned that every decision made in this country affects and impacts EVERYONE,

not just certain groups of people. The biggest thing I took and learned from Charlene’s speech,

however, is that ANYONE can make a difference, and anyone be a part of something that uses

their voice to make a difference. When people look at the legacy of Martin Luther King, they see

a legend who fought for racial equality and demolishing segregation, but Charlene sees it as so

much more. She talks about how Dr. King’s story is told in a certain way, a way that doesn’t tell

how he fought for many things, things besides fighting for racial equality. Charlene also talked

about how the recent election will have a drastic affect, not just on Blacks, but on everyone.

Ultimately, Charlene is someone who inspires someone to get involved and stand up for what

you believe in. Her speech was full of passion and dedication. I was very inspired and taken by

her words, and I am glad that I attended this event.

 In Woolfolk, there are many theories that connect to many, or even all parts of our lives.

However, when it comes to connecting a theory from Woolfolk to what I learned at this event,

the theory that fits best is Erickson’s Eight Stages of Psychological Development. Erickson

(1950), as stated in Woolfolk (2016, p. 94), stated in his eighth stage that in late adulthood, a

person accepts who they are and they feel that have fulfilled something in their life. This relates

to Charlene and her story because when she reached adulthood, even though she is not at the end

of her life, she had a sense of accepting who she is as a queer woman, and she feels fulfillment in

her life as she leads a major project for black youth, and is a public speaker, speaking all over the

United States. Her life fits Erickson’s eighth stage perfectly.

This event is culturally relevant and responsive in every way. The entire event was

centered on Martin Luther King’s legacy and the Black Lives Matter movement. It is relevant

and responsive due to this simple fact that is a success, it focuses on an issue that plagues our

country, and it challenges the higher power in hope to make a change. They do this event every

year, with hundreds of students attending. They have guest speakers, such a Charlene, come and

speak to educate students on the issue at hand, which in this case is the Black Lives Matter

movement. The speaker not only developed cultural competence early on in life, but she also

challenges the higher power while challenging us as learners to go out and make a difference,

and question what we feel is not right. These concepts that connect to this particular event, are

also very important in the teaching world. Ladson-Billings (1995), as stated in Woolfolk (2016,

p. 236), said that culturally relevant pedagogy is the guideline that a teacher needs in order to

make their students excellent, in three positions. First the students must have success in their

academic careers; they must use every subject in order to be able to participate as an educated

member in a democracy (Ladson-Billings, 1995, p. 160). Then the students must maintain
cultural competence, which is the teacher themselves understanding and connecting to their

students cultures in order to connect to them academically, and tie them together into one

(Ladson-Billings, 1995, p. 161). Finally, the students must challenge the status quo. They do this

by their teacher allowing them to open up their knowledge of the world around them, so that they

make challenge the norms and stand up for what they believe should be the norm (Ladson-

Billings, 1995, p. 162). Geneva Gay (2000), as stated in Woolfolk (2016, p. 237),had a thought

about culturally responsive teaching. The thought was that it is used to connect the cultures of

the students to the criteria of what is being taught, that way it makes the learning seem more

relevant and important to the students. Lisa Delpit (2003), as stated in Woolfolk (2016, p. 237),

said there were three steps of teaching that related to this. The steps were that a teacher must

believe in their students, focus less on test scores and more on if the students are learning, and

the teachers must know what kind of students they have and bring their personal abilities to light.

Both of these concepts are vital in teaching as there will always be students of different races and

different cultures.

This event really opens up your eyes to what people of another race and another culture

go through that you don’t. That is why this event was so vital in assisting me to be a culturally

relevant and responsive teacher. It opened my eyes to the fact that every single student’s culture

is important to their learning, and in order for them to want to learn and to learn well, especially

from me, I have to be able to connect to them not just through their academic skills, but through

their morals and values. By understanding their cultures and tying them into what they are

learning, I will connect to them on such a stronger, more personal level, a level that I could never

reach with them without fully understanding them. My goal as a future teacher is to have my
former students be able to say that I was a teacher who really cared about them, their success,

and their cultures, and really made an honest effort to connect to them in that personal way.

References

Erickson, Erik. (1950) p. 94. Eights Stages of Psychological Development. Location: Woolfolk,

2016.

Ladson-Billings, Gloria. (1995) p. 236. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. Location: Woolfolk,

2016.

Gay, Geniva. (2000) p. 237. Culturally Responsive Teaching. Location: Woolfolk, 2016.

Deplit, Lisa. (2003) p. 237. Culturally Responsive Teaching. Location: Woolfolk, 2016.