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njpac.org • MLK Celebration 1

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration

passport to culture

Generous support for SchoolTime provided, in part, by

arts education

NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Teacher’s Guide 2012–2013

SchoolTime

2 MLK Celebration • njpac.org

contentsDid You Know? 3

The struggle for civil rights

On Stage 4Voices lifted in unity

In the Classroom 6Related activities and resources

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Arts Education Department presents the 16th season of the Passport to Culture SchoolTime Performance Series.

Teacher’s Resource GuideThis guide will help you prepare your class for an enriching experience at our SchoolTime Passport to Culture Performance. We provide discussion ideas, activities and reading resources that promote arts literacy in your classroom and link to New Jersey’s Core Curriculum Content Standards. You can find additional resources online at artsed.njpac.org.

Permission is granted to copy and distribute this guide to any class attending a 2012–2013 SchoolTime performance (all other rights reserved).

NJPAC Arts EducationAt NJPAC, our mission is to join with parents, teachers and community to cultivate an appreciation of the arts for all children in all schools. We believe the arts provide an effective means of knowing and learning that helps children find the self-esteem, poise and confidence they need to succeed in every facet of life. Our innovative programs are designed to engage the artist in every child.

In-School ResidenciesNJPAC brings the joy of dance, music and theater directly into your classroom with In-School Residencies. Our teaching artists create stimulating performing arts experiences that engage students’ imaginations and encourage self-expression. Residencies are customized to meet the curricular goals of the classroom teacher. Each residency ends with a performance that teaches students to work together and believe in themselves.

SchoolTime and Family PerformancesOpen a world of culture to your students through performances of music, dance, storytelling, theater, and puppetry through professional stage productions by local, national and international artists. Performances are enriched by teacher resource guides as well as Q&A sessions with the artists.

Arts Training ProgramsStudents interested in acting, dance, musical theater, vocal or instrumental music will find an artistic home at NJPAC where creative expression and solid technique serve as cornerstones of the Arts Training programs. Teaching Artists with exceptional profes-sional experience guide students at all levels of arts learning (beginner, intermediate and advanced) to greater creative understanding and self-confidence.

arts education


KID POwER!Through energy efficiency and

conservation, kids can help preserve our planet’s rich natural resources and

promote a healthy environment.

TIP OF THE DAYEvery drop counts

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a passionate advocate for environmental justice, which is the community’s right to

clean air, water and soil. The human body cannot survive a week when deprived of

water alone. Help conserve Mother Nature’s liquid resources by brushing your teeth with

the tap off and taking shorter showers.

Made possible through the generosity of the PSEG Foundation.

visit artsed.njpac.orgFind additional resources by clicking on SchoolTime Performances

NJPAC’s Summer Youth Performance workshop

ON THE COvERThe Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta

Scott King lead marchers into Montgomery, Alabama in March 1965 (front row, from left:

Juanita Abernathy, Ralph Bunche, Dr. and Mrs. King, Frederick Douglas

Reese, and Hosea williams). Copyright Morton Broffman.

Image generously provided by the Broffman family.


The struggle for civil rightsDID YOU KNOw?

In the late 19th century and into the 20th, Southern whites had established a system of authority that protected the privileges of white society and generated tremendous suffering for African Americans, controlling them economically, politically and socially. This climate characterized the era before and after the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1944, at the age of 15, he was admitted to Morehouse College. At 19, following graduation from college, he was ordained as a Baptist minister. In 1953, he married Coretta Scott, and in 1955, he received a doctorate in theology from Boston University.

Radical changes, rude awakenings

•The bus boycott in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1953 was a mass movement guided by the United Defense League in which African-American citizens banded together to fight the segregated seating system on city buses. Though seldom talked about, historians believe it set the stage for desegregation in the Deep South.

•Brown vs. the Board of Education, which has come to be known as the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, was the culmination of an attack on segregation in education by the NAACP. On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. A backlash by pro-segregation groups throughout the South followed the court ruling in favor of the NAACP. African Americans, as well as the few whites who supported the civil rights cause, were killed, maimed and starved. Among these was the highly publicized killing and mutilation of 14-year-old African-American Emmet Till, a Northerner visiting Mississippi.

MLK and the Civil Rights Movement

•The Montgomery bus boycott (1955-1956), led by Dr. King, was sparked by the arrest of black seamstress Rosa Parks for refusing to take her place at the back

of a city bus. The boycott ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segrega-tion on public buses is unconstitutional. The protest propelled the Civil Rights Movement into national consciousness and Dr. King into the public eye.

•The philosophy of nonviolence practiced by Indian political leader Mohandas Gandhi was adopted by Dr. King after visiting India in 1959. Dr. King, as well as other civil rights activists and organi-zations nationwide, initiated examples of wide-scale mass resistance to injustice in the form of sit-ins, boycotts, marches, and speeches.

•“The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” led by Dr. King in 1963, was the largest civil rights protest of the era. During this march, Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, which underscored the need for a society where “people would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

•The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, and Dr. King received the Nobel Peace

Prize. However, brutalities continued in the South.

•Dr.Kingwrotethe“Letter from Birmingham Jail” during his imprison-ment for participating in a Birmingham, Alabama march in 1965. In summary, the letter stated that he had come to Birmingham because of the injustice prevalent there. For Dr. King, injustice anywhere led to the possibility of injus-tice everywhere.

•Dr.King’slastmarchledhimtoMemphis, Tennessee in support of the city’s African-American sanitation workers. On April 13, 1968, he deliv-ered his stirring “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” speech. The following day, an assassin’s bullet ended his life.

In 1985, Dr. King’s birthday was desig-nated a national holiday, celebrated annually on the third Monday in January. Although the life of the “dream keeper” has ended, his legacy and spirit live on, leading all to a more profound understanding of the need for human dignity and peace among all people.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addresses an audience in front of the state capitol in Jackson, Mississippi at the conclusion of the March Against Fear on June 26, 1966.


Marvin Sapp (marvinsapp.com)

A contemporary gospel solo artist who spreads his message with pride and rever-ence, Marvin Sapp describes himself as a preacher “who happens to sing.” When he isn’t traveling to more than 200 speaking engagements each year, Sapp serves as senior pastor of the Lighthouse Full Life Center Church in his birthplace of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Young Marvin began raising his voice in song as a preschooler attending church. He was introduced to the gospel community by vocalist Fred Hammond, who invited him to sing with the group Commissioned. Sapp launched a solo career in 1996 and his successful crossover albums have consis-tently earned gospel music awards and nominations, as well as recognition on R&B and hip-hop charts. His newest album, I Win, was released last year.

Thirsty (2007) produced the platinum single “Never Would Have Made It,” which held the No. 1 slot in gospel radio for nearly a year, topped the Urban Adult Contemporary chart and propelled Thirsty to the head of the gospel charts for 27

words & MusicIn praise of Dr. King

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration is NJPAC’s annual tribute to the civil rights leader who gave his life so that others could have the freedom, justice and equality guaran-teed by the U.S. Constitution. This commemorative program recalls past intolerance but also seeks to inspire the whole community toward a better future where all people will be judged “not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

For its 2013 tribute to Dr. King, NJPAC welcomes renowned gospel singer and minister Marvin Sapp as featured performing artist. This year’s special guest speaker is acclaimed playwright, actor and educator Will Power.

Dr. King’s legacy of non-violent change and dignity for all people will be recalled and celebrated through uplifting words and music. In his own words, “We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.” NJPAC’s observance revives his dream by unifying the community’s brothers and sisters in an afternoon of jubilation and contemplation.

ON STAGE

weeks. Here I Am (2010), recorded in Grand Rapids’ Resurrection Life Church, contains the hit song “Best in Me,” voted the Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year at the 2011 GMA Dove Awards. Sapp is also the recipient of two Best Gospel Artist BET Awards (2008, 2010).

Among Sapp’s previous releases are the self-titled Marvin Sapp (1996); Grace & Mercy (1997); Nothing Else Matters (1999); I Believe (2002); Diary of a Psalmist (2003); and Be Exalted (2005). His songs are infused with reassurance, praise and guidance, while incorporating new musical twists.

Most revolutionary of all is Here I Am’s rock-infused anthem “Praise You Forever,” a musical first for Sapp. “I wanted to stretch out and do something totally different,” says the singer-songwriter. “It’s where we are as a musical society, crossing from gospel to AC (Adult Contemporary). I took a flying leap into another genre believing it would be a positive, edgy challenge for me.”

Sapp holds a Doctor of Divinity degree from Aenon Bible College and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Friends International Christian University. He says of his latest albums, “I did my very best. After that, you let God do the rest.”

will Power (willpower.tv)

will Power is an award-winning play-wright and performer. His adaptation of the Greek tragedy Seven Against Thebes, retitled The Seven, enjoyed a successful off-Broadway run at the New York Theater Workshop and La Jolla Playhouse. His solo show, FLOW, was featured in the Hip-Hop Theater Festival before touring nationally and internationally to critical acclaim.

Power’s numerous awards include a United States Artists Prudential Fellowship, a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical, the TCG Peter Zeisler Memorial Award, a Jury Award for Best Theatre Performance at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, a Drama Desk Award nomination, and the Trailblazer Award from the national Black Theatre Network. His film and television

appearances include The Colbert Report (Comedy Central) and Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason (PBS). Power is developing new works for the Dallas Theater Center, the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, Hartford Stage, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Power spent his early years touring and recording extensively as a key member of two highly praised avant-garde music groups: Midnight Voices and the Omar Sosa Sextet. More recently, Power has traveled on many occasions to teach hip-hop lyri-cism and theater across the globe. He has held artist fellowships and guest teaching

positions at institutions such as the City College of New York, Princeton University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

As a guest of the U.S. State Department on five occasions, Power traveled to South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. On these trips and others, Power taught community workshops in shantytowns, worked with poets in former regimes of the Soviet Union and lectured at various libraries, grammar schools and colleges. He is currently on the faculty at the Meadows School of the Arts/Southern Methodist University.



More ResourcesBooks for Students and TeachersKing, Martin Luther, Jr. Stride Toward Freedom. Harper & Row, 1958.

____________. Strength to Love. Harper & Row, 1963.

Mfume, Kweisi and Ronald Stodghill II. No Free Ride. One World/Ballantine, 1997.

websitesnj.gov/state/programs/dos_program_mlk.htmlState of NJ Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission, Trenton.

marvinsapp.comMarvin Sapp’s official website.

willpower.tvWill Power’s official website and blog.

CDsAlbums by Marvin Sapp:

I Win. Verity, 2012.

Here I Am. Verity, 2010.

Thirsty. Verity, 2007.

videosInterview with Will Power at McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton. youtube.com/watch?v=QT2zKpXoBJs

Interview with Will Power on The Colbert Report. colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/75584/september-18-2006/will-power

Marvin Sapp on YouTube. youtube.com/channel/HCTP4Hwj1JTjM

Before the Performance1. Ask students why Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday is celebrated. What are the things he stood for? How does this celebration connect African Americans to their heritage? How does this celebration connect all Americans to their heritage? Why do students think that it is important to remember Dr. King? (1.2) *

2. Prepare the class for watching a live performance. Talk about proper audience behavior. Good audiences listen attentively and react appropriately to both funny moments and scary or serious ones. Bad audiences react too loudly, talk during the performance, fidget in their seats, eat, drink, or fall asleep. Discuss when it is appropriate to applaud. Stress that talking during a performance is rude and distracting both to performers and others in the audience. (1.1)

After the Performance1. The following activity is an arts inte-grated resource of Verizon’s Thinkfinity.org. In this lesson, from ReadWriteThink, students explore the ways that powerful and passionate words communicate the concepts of freedom, justice, discrimination, and the American Dream in Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Have students pay attention to the details of Dr. King’s speech as they read and as they gather words to use in their own original poems. The lesson, which places special emphasis on Dr. King’s use of literary devices, such as symbolism and repetition, can be accessed at readwrite-think.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=258. (1.1, 1.2, 1.3)

2. Discuss with the students how the songs of Marvin Sapp helped the audience understand some of Dr. King’s values and beliefs. Verizon’s Thinkfinity.org provides useful links to the different styles of music performed, including information on spiri-tuals from Edsitement at edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/spirituals. (1.1, 1.2, 1.3)

* Numbers indicate the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standard(s) supported by the activity.

visit artsed.njpac.orgFind additional resources by clicking on SchoolTime Performances

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, read to their children.

In the classroom


MLK Celebration vocabulary list

From the untrained singing of the shower soloist to the professional opera diva, everyone who is physically capable has made music at some time. Singing, like speaking, is produced by air passing over the vocal cords and generating sound vibra-tions. The vibrations travel up the throat, past the lips and out of the mouth.

This operation occurs in the body when many separate factors work together. The lungs, diaphragm, larynx (voice box), vocal cords, pharynx, mouth, teeth, tongue, and nose all must perform their functions to produce all types of singing, from the pure clarity of Marian Anderson to the twangy nasality of Willie Nelson.

When we breathe, the diaphragm contracts and lowers itself, enlarging the chest cavity and pulling air into the lungs. When we sing, the abdominal muscle squeezes the chest cavity, causing a rapid exhalation of air. The air passes through the larynx and between the vocal cords, causing the cords to vibrate. The vocal tone

is enhanced in the pharynx, mouth and nose as they act as resonators to amplify the initial tone. The pharynx extends up from the larynx to the back of the mouth. The soft palate is the roof of the pharynx and the window to the nasal cavities. When the soft palate is raised, the nasal cavities are closed off. To maintain nasal resonance, the soft palate is lowered, allowing the sound to travel into the nasal region. Changing the shape and size of the mouth produces vowel sounds; the tongue and lips produce consonants.

NJ Core Curriculum Content Science Standards state that all students will “gain an understanding of natural laws as they apply to motion, forces, and energy trans-formations.” The exercise below investigates how humans produce sound:

-- Sing a note or use a tuning fork to strike a note. Have the students hum it with their mouths and teeth closed and their tongues resting on the roofs on their mouths. Ask the students to record where

the vibration was felt and why. (Answer: The vibration is felt in the nose. Why? Air is pushed up, vibrating the vocal cords, but the tongue is in the way.)

-- Next, have the students close their mouths and teeth and place their tongues flat below their bottom teeth. Ask them to hum the same note they heard above and record where the vibration was felt and why. (Answer: The vibration is felt in the teeth. Why? With the tongue out of the way, the air is moving to the back of the teeth.)

-- Finally, have the students relax their jaws. With their mouths closed, their teeth apart, and their tongues placed flat below the bottom teeth, ask them to hum the same note and record where the vibration was felt and why. (Answer: The vibration is felt in the lips. Why? The tongue and the teeth are out of the way and the sound travels to the lips.)

Teaching Science Through the Arts is made possible through the generous support of Roche.

anthem — a hymn of praise or loyalty; a choral composition having a sacred or moralizing text.

arrangement — a new adaptation and orchestration of an already existing musical piece.

call-and-response — a communica-tion pattern where one party sends forth a message or “call” and another party responds. This pattern is very common in African and African-descended music and dance.

choir — a group of singers.

chord — three or more tones having a harmonic relation to each other and played or sounded together.

composer — a person who writes music.

dynamics — the interplay between loudness and softness and smoothness and “choppi-ness” of notes that are played or sung.

gospel — a form of vocal music that developed in African-American churches, especially in urban areas. It incorporates elements of African rhythm and music, African-American song forms, expressive singing, and often musical accompaniment.

harmony — the result of certain musical intervals or chords that relate to each other and sound pleasing.

hip-hop — the stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rap; a popular urban youth culture closely associated with rap music and with the style and fashions of African-American inner-city residents.

hymn — a song in praise of God.

in unison — in complete agreement; harmonizing exactly.

lyrics — the words of a song.

melody — an organized succession of single musical tones arranged in a related and recognizable pattern; a tune.

musician — a person who plays a musical instrument, especially professionally.

rhythm — a regular pattern produced by the length of strong and weak musical sounds at a particular speed or tempo, frequently called the “beat.”

solo — a musical composition or passage for an individual voice or instrument with or without accompaniment.

syncopation — stressing the normally unaccented beats, often used in African-derived music.

tempo — the speed at which music is played.

Teaching Science Through Music (Grades 6–12)

By Timothy & Katrina Macht


arts education


NJPAC Arts Education programs are made possible by the generosity of: Automatic Data Processing, Bank of America, The Arts Education Endowment Fund in Honor of Raymond G. Chambers, Leon & Toby Cooperman, William Randolph Hearst Foundation, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, McCrane Foundation, Merck Company Foundation, Albert & Katharine Merck, The Prudential Foundation, PSEG Foundation, Marian & David Rocker, The Sagner Family Foundation, The Star-Ledger/Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Verizon, Victoria Foundation, Wells Fargo, John & Suzanne Willian / Goldman Sachs Gives and The Women’s Association of NJPAC.

Additional support is provided by: Advance Realty, Anonymous, C.R. Bard

Foundation, BD, The Frank and Lydia Bergen Foundation, Berkeley College, Allen & Joan Bildner, Bloomberg, Ann and Stan Borowiec, Jennifer Chalsty, The Johnny Mercer Foundation, Chase, Edison Properties, Veronica Goldberg Foundation, Meg & Howard Jacobs, Johnson & Johnson, The MCJ Amelior Foundation, The New Jersey Cultural Trust, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Novo Nordisk, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Pechter Foundation, PNC Foundation on behalf of the PNC Grow Up Great program, The Provident Bank Foundation, E. Franklin Robbins Charitable Trust, Roche, TD Charitable Foundation, Turrell Fund, and The Blanche M. & George L. Watts Mountainside Community Foundation.

Editor: Linda Fowler

Designer: Bonnie Felt

NJPAC Guest Reader: Shirley Matthews

NJPAC Teacher’s Guide Review Committee:Laura IngogliaJudith IsraelMary Lou JohnstonAmy Tenzer

Photo on page 3 courtesy of Jim Peppler and the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama.

Photo on page 6 courtesy of the King family collection.

Copyright © 2013 New Jersey Performing Arts Center All Rights Reserved

New Jersey Performing Arts Centerwilliam J. Marino ................................................................................................... Chairman

John Schreiber ............................................................................................ President & CEO

Sandra Bowie ...................................................................... Vice President of Arts Education

Sanaz Hojreh ........................................................ Assistant Vice President of Arts Education

verushka Spirito ............................................................. Associate Director of Performances

Caitlin Evans Jones ................................................................ Director of In-School Programs

Faye Competello ............................................................................... Director of Arts Training

Linda Fowler ................................................................. Editor of Teacher’s Resource Guides

One Center StreetNewark, New Jersey 07102Administration: 973 642-8989Arts Education Hotline: 973 [email protected]

Acknowledgments as of 11/27/12

visit artsed.njpac.orgFind additional resources by clicking on SchoolTime Performances or scan the QR code displayed here.

For even more arts integration resources, pleasego to Thinkfinity.org, the Verizon Foundation’ssignature digital learning platform, designed toimprove educational and literacy achievement.

Coming to NJPAC

The Little PrinceJanuary 24 and 25A magical, puppet-filled journey through Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book, from some of the creative minds behind the Muppets. For grades 3-6. Call (973) 297-5828.

The Little Prince Bristol Riverside Theatre

passport to culture

Generous support for SchoolTime provided, in part, by

arts education@


Teacher’s Guide 2012–2013

SchoolTime

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