By Roxanne Christian, President, Alliance for Education
Martin Luther King Jr. Day comes each year, but for many across Seattle Public Schools, Dr. King’s legacy is not confined to a single holiday. It is lived every day in classrooms, school offices and hallways — through the actions of those who show up for students with courage, compassion and an unwavering belief in their potential. His vision endures in the daily work of educators and staff who refuse to accept inequity as inevitable and instead act with audacity.
During his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. says, “I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits.”
At the Alliance for Education, we are honored to walk alongside school staff and educators who translate Dr. King’s call for justice into daily practice. These educators and school leaders sustain dignity, opportunity and belonging for every child, especially students furthest from educational justice. Their work shows that transformation is not only found in sweeping change, but in consistent, intentional acts that move students closer to possibility. As Dr. King affirmed, “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”
Last year, we honored Principal Regina Carter of Madrona Elementary School with a Thomas B. Foster award. Her leadership reflects Dr. King’s moral clarity and commitment to community. She models what it means to be from and for the Black community, leading with high expectations and deep care for students and families. Her work reminds us that justice begins with trust, and trust begins in our schools.
We see Dr. King’s legacy carried forward by leaders like Jeanea Proctor-Mills, the district’s McKinney-Vento Liaison, who supports students experiencing homelessness. Through her leadership, young people are not defined by instability, but surrounded by care, advocacy, and opportunity. At the Alliance, we respond to urgent needs through the Right Now Needs Fund, helping families keep the lights on or ensuring students have food, housing, or transportation. These acts of care make Dr. King’s belief tangible; that dignity and freedom must be real, not theoretical.
We see Dr. King in James Dixon, a Seattle Teacher Residency graduate who began his career teaching because representation matters and students should see themselves reflected in school leadership. Today, as assistant principal at Lowell Elementary, he supports educators who honor the cultures of the communities they serve.
Dr. King’s dream lives on in Keenen Allen, a Kingmakers Facilitator at Denny International Middle School through the Office of African American Male Achievement, who mentors young Kings to become confident leaders, grounded in history, guided by purpose, and rooted in pride for Black culture.
Dr. King dared us to have the audacity to believe. Across our district, that audacity is in action, in educators and leaders who challenge us all to envision a world where education nourishes minds and justice uplifts spirits. We honor those who carry his legacy forward, not in words alone, but through daily acts of love, leadership and liberation that transform the lives of students.
