At Deerfield Academy’s celebration of Martin Luther King Day on Tuesday, January 16, Dr. Peniel Joseph (University of Texas at Austin)—one of the leading historians of the Black freedom struggle—will address our community. His keynote address will build off of the ideas he develops in the introduction and epilogue of his book, THE SWORD AND THE SHIELD (2020), so he has asked all students to read those excerpts beforehand.
If you are taking a history course this term, your teacher will indicate to you when your class will be discussing and/or writing about this reading.
If you are not taking a history course this term, you should plan to remain in the Dining Hall after sit-down dinner on Sunday (Jan. 14) for fifteen minutes to complete a written reflection about the reading. If you have a scheduling conflict, contact Mr. Hamilton.
Should you no longer have a copy of the book you received, here is a PDF version of the assigned pages. An audio recording of the book is available on Spotify.