January 5, 2018 at 4:26 p.m.
Rhinelander High School grad to speak at annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service forum
Rhinelander High School grad to speak at annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service forum
By By Cheryl Hanson-
This year's featured speaker is Cara Fitzgerald, a 2001 graduate of Rhinelander High School and 2005 graduate of UW-Madison.
Ms. Fitzgerald currently teaches English at Madison Memorial High School in Madison.
Her topic is entitled Creating Conversations in the Community.
Ms. Fitzgerald follows in the formidable footsteps of her mother, Gail, who taught elementary school in Rhinelander for many years, and her father, Chuck, who served as a member and board president for the School District of Rhinelander.
Last spring, along with three Madison Memorial colleagues, Ms. Fitzgerald led an all-school read of the young adult novel "All American Boys," a story about race relations in America. Through fundraising efforts all 2,000 students and 200 faculty received copies of the book. Approximately 20 Madison police officers also read the novel.
Ms. Fitzgerald's presentation will focus on the impact the book discussions and supporting month-long activities, such as film screenings, panel presentations, art activities, and reading performances, had on the entire community of students, parents, and police officers.
"All American Boys" was co-authored by Jason Reynolds, an African American, and Brendan Kiely, a white American. Each brought a different perspective to the story about Rashad Butler, a black high school student who is wrongfully beaten by a police officer while his classmate, Quinn Collins, sees the incident from a distance and doesn't know what to do.
In an interview with Amber Payne, editor of NBC-BLK, the news website focused on conversations about black identity, politics, and culture, Reynolds shared an experience he had as a high school student. He and four friends ran through a yellow traffic light. They were pulled over by an officer, who ordered them to get out of the car and then proceeded to rummage through the vehicle before letting them go.
In contrast, Kiely described the time he was pulled over for exceeding the speed limit by 30-miles per hour, remained in his car, and was let go with a warning. Kiely called this white privilege "a shield and a veil," which makes white people oblivious to the problem of race discrimination.
The authors intentionally targeted "All American Boys" at "young people who are on the front lines" of racial issues. Kiely, who taught high school for 10 years, believes his experience put him in a unique position to make this novel a conversation starter among that age group.
Reynolds and Kiely won the 2016 Coretta Scott King Award sponsored by the American Library Association, which recognizes outstanding books about the African-American experience written for a youth audience.
This year's program at Nicolet College will feature footage from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches.
Children are encouraged to attend.
Partnering with NUUF as co-sponsors of the event are: Nicolet College, Eagle River First Congregational United Church of Christ, St. Augustine's Episcopal Church, St. Matthias Episcopal Church, Holy family Catholic Church, Ascension Lutheran Church, Marywood Spirituality Center, North Central Labor Coalition, League of Women Voters of the Northwoods, Northwoods Branch American Association of University Women, Northern Wisconsin Center for Working People, and Northwoods Progressives.
To learn more about the all-school read at Madison Memorial, go to http://jmmreads.weebly.com.
For further information about the MLK speaker forum, contact Diane Reupert at 715-282-5400.
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