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Speaker Brings Message of Martin Luther King Jr. to TBJH

Sean Harkins, Alpena News

Brian Pruitt, a motivational speaker, addresses Thunder Bay Junior High School students after speaking at an assembly Monday afternoon. Pruitt talked about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He told students that by being respectful to each other they are carrying on King’s dream.

The shouts of Thunder Bay Junior High School eighth graders echoed loudly throughout the gym Monday afternoon. It was so loud most of the building probably heard it.

"I ... have ... a dream!"

The group, large enough to fill the bleachers on one side of the room, was split into sections by motivational speaker Brian Pruitt. He asked them to repeat the famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was there to help them remember and celebrate Dr. King's legacy.

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. day across the United States. The civil rights leader would have celebrated his 79th birthday last Tuesday, but he was shot to death in 1968. Pruitt wanted the students to remember the importance of his life.

"He fought for the rights of everyday people, just like me and you," Pruitt said.

He reminded the group that Dr. King fought not only for the rights of African-Americans, but for all people. Racism was only a small part of a bigger field of injustice against which Dr. King fought, he said.

He called Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech, considered by many to be one of the greatest speeches in history. It struck a chord with America, he said. Treat each other with respect, he told the students, and Luther's dream will live on.

"Martin Luther King died for equality. He just wanted us to be treated equal," Pruitt said.

The Thunder Bay assembly was Pruitt's second of the day. He made a similar presentation at Alpena High School earlier in the day. He said each one was tailored to its audience.

"This was some of the same stuff, but not all of the same stuff," Pruitt said after the assembly was finished.

AHS D-House Principal Gregory Adamus said Pruitt, a Saginaw native and former all-American running back at Central Michigan University, was known by several Alpena Public Schools faculty members. He seemed a natural fit to honor King, Adamus said.

"Since (Alpena schools are) open, we decided it would be appropriate to send a message of cultural diversity and racial harmony," Adamus said.

AHS's diversity club and its faculty adviser, Lori Vought, helped to land Pruitt for the assembly, Adamus said. He also credited the Community Foundation of Northeast Michigan's Youth Advisory Council, which sponsored the event.

Pruitt's style was a mixture of humor, history and real-life experience. He told the students about the disappointment he felt after learning a rare spinal condition would keep him from his dream of playing NFL football. But he, like King, persevered and found something else at which he could be successful, he said.

Based on the response he got from a group of eighth grade students Monday, he was right.