From the Director: What About Monday?

This year Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on his actual birthday. Let's honor his legacy through service, community conversations, and civic engagement.
We’re back in school, making sense of 2018’s arrival. And here comes a long weekend, perhaps feeling mistimed, or at least too early as routines resume. But could there ever be a better year to remember the origin story for Martin Luther King Jr. Day or to learn it for the first time? Consider:
 
That this year the holiday honoring King’s legacy falls precisely on his birthday, Jan.15, in Atlanta 89 years ago. His assassination at the Lorraine Motel, now Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis will have been exactly a half-century ago this spring on April 4, four years into our own school’s efforts to desegregate and a year after Cassandra Teague became our first African-American graduate in 1967. The students who walked these halls as seniors back then will return this April for the 50th reunion of the Class of ’68.
 
For 15 years after King’s tragic loss, members of Congress sought a commemorative day on our national calendar, undeterred by resistance and inertia, helped in 1979 by Stevie Wonder releasing “Happy Birthday” as a musical salute. What followed was a national petition drawing millions of signatures. By 1983, large majorities formed in both chambers, with the bill passing 338-90 that July in the House and 78-22 that October in the Senate, despite a brief filibuster by North Carolina’s Sen. Strom Thurmond. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law Nov. 2, 1983, albeit with that veto-proof support evident.
 
As an aside, and as an indication of the power of incumbency, 26 members of that Congress are still serving today. And six of them voted against the bill, including Sen. John McCain, who cites that opposition as one of his greatest mistakes in office.
 
States’ responses varied, with most adopting the third Monday in January as a formal observance and a handful of conspicuous exceptions. It was not until 1991 that all 50 finally agreed, with New Hampshire establishing a Civil Rights Day as a sort of compromise. Not until 2000 did South Carolina grant state employees a paid holiday, the last state to do so. Up to that time, those workers could choose between MLK Day or, alternatively, a Confederate holiday, of which there were several.
 
Maybe most remarkable in this storyline, at least to me, is the fact that Alabama and Mississippi continue to celebrate King’s birthday combined with Robert E. Lee’s birthday. Only last year did Arkansas separate those two legacies, in favor MLK Day claiming primacy. I can’t recall ever reading that headline, though it seems wrong not to know.
 
Back in the ’80s, schools like ours made very intentional efforts to teach civil rights history on MLK Day. Many chose to stay in classes and devote classroom time to documentaries like “Eyes on the Prize” and speakers who shared their stories from the movement.

That pattern became familiar, then it gave way to more direct participation in community projects, to civic engagement away from campus. And with that shift our connection to the holiday as a “day on” became more tenuous, our urgency less obvious. And here we are, over three decades after MLK Day became a national holiday in 1986, with an established but easily taken for granted Monday off.
 
Let’s resolve, in this year of Charlottesville, Va. and monument protests, to get up and get out on MLK Day. Take a look at the Metro Human Relations Commission’s resource site—it’s packed with opportunity, starting Saturday, Jan. 13. Think about the commemorative march from Jefferson Street to the Gentry Center at Tennessee State University. Or look at Hands on Nashville’s events for what is now a National Day of Service.
 
Wednesday, Jan. 17 at Langford Auditorium, our Vanderbilt neighbors host Jelani Cobb of the New Yorker to discuss racial protest with the chancellor, as the culmination of the university’s Commemorative Series. Make time for observations great and modest, for actions dedicated the “Beloved Community,” understanding that there are a place and a responsibility for all of us.
 
Thanks for bearing with the overview—there’s something powerful in this moment,
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School News

List of 3 news stories.

  • University School of Nashville students Eleanor Mixon '27 and Dylan Omary '27 voted first the first time on Thursday, October 29, 2026 at the Scarritt Bennett.

    Seniors take field trip to cast first ballot

    All 40 eligible University School of Nashville students in the Class of 2037 registered to vote ahead of the voter registration deadline, and Eleanor Mixon '27 and Dylan Omary '27 walked across the street from USN to the Scarritt Bennett Center to cast their first ballots on the final day of early voting.
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  • The ballot box and beyond: USN Seniors civically engaged

    Students in High School History Teacher Cameron Parsons' Advanced Topics: American Government and Politics Class have been working diligently on civic engagement projects that required them to participate in the democratic process.
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  • An evening of erudition: 22 seniors enter Cum Laude Society

    Congratulations to the Class of 2027 inductees of the USN Cum Laude Society: Jack Barrett, Charlie Blau, Alder Brandon, Olivia Brown, Elisabeth Crane, Alexandra Drewry, Lucia Gellert, Melis Kurtulus, Abigail Manoukian, Lily Margalit, Eleanor Mixon, Louisa Nordberg, Mia Orefice, Karsen Puzniak, Ruchika Ramachandran, Jacqueline Seale, Elliott Spiller, Laine Theobald, Alexander Truss, Yifan Wang, Madeleine Wiseman, and Julia Young.
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Archive

Athletics News

List of 3 news stories.

  • Mountain Bike Team Takes on “Electric" State Champs Trails, Dehner Snags Overall Podium Medal

    Steve Smail & MTB Team Coaches
    With trail names like Megawatt, Electric Avenue, High Voltage and Livewire, the mountain bike team knew it was time to pedal out some extra watts for their NICA/TICL State Championships at Raccoon Mountain, and survive the technical trails above Chattanooga full of boulder gardens, rock drops and sandy rubble.
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  • Mountain Bike Team Takes on Winged Deer Trails, HS Makes Podium Appearance

    Steve Smail
    Winged Deer Park and trails in Johnson City hosted our 4th race on Sunday October 11th, and despite a bit of hurricane outwash winds and showers - and reduced team numbers due to fall break and distance from Nashville - our racers utilized all available skills and speed which helped “wing" Sophomore Claire Dehner to a 4th place podium spot, our first podium appearance and medal for the season.
     
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  • HS athletics recaps for September 11-17

    Tiger golfers have officially qualified for the region tournament, and our other teams are not far behind. Volleyball sits near the top of the district, finishing up regular season play next week with Senior Night. Girls soccer continues to hold first place in the district after another 9-0 win, and our cross country runners are chasing after some school records. To round it all out, our mountain bike team traveled to Oakfield to continue to improve on their times for the season. There’s plenty more where that came from- so be sure to come out to the River Campus, Sperling Gym, or out on the road to cheer on our Tigers before their seasons end.
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Contact

Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212

Phone:  615-321-8000
Fax:       615-321-0889 
Email:    info@usn.org

River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218

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USN Mission: 
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.