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 As we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today, Global Citizens Circle is sharing an excerpt from the book, “Counter Culture: Clams, Convents, and a Circle of Global Citizens,” written by Eleanor Dunfey-Freiburger, a founding member of GCC, board member, and its former chair. This excerpt reflects upon an experience many aren’t aware of, in the painful aftermath of Dr. King’s death—and reminds us that when times feel hopeless and we’re feeling helpless, we often have an opportunity to “do something.” The sixties had bequeathed its radical upheaval and national trauma to us. A total of sixteen children were left behind when these three leaders (President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Senator Robert F. Kennedy) were killed. Adding the thousands left behind from racial conflicts and the war, people were left with a feeling of helplessness added to grief. At such times, we look for something—anything—to do. The Dunfey and Hirshberg families would, thankfully, be given that “something to do.” In the summer of 1968, Coretta Scott King had even more responsibility than she’d had before the tragedy that shook her, her family, the nation, and the world on April fourth. She was now looking for a place where she and her four children could start to heal, to play, and to escape the attention of the nation. She hoped for a quiet place where she could begin writing what would become her book, “My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr.” It so happened Earl Graves, assistant to Robert Kennedy and later, founder of Black Enterprise magazine, was close to both the King and Dunfey families. He knew Walter (Dunfey) and his wife, Barbara, had a cottage on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. He was aware that each family had four children, some of whom were close in age. Earl called Walter and Barbara, and they extended an invitation to the King family to use their cottage that summer as a hideaway of sorts… Life stories evolve from such invitations. This one includes a homey cottage, a bunk house, a small boat called “Putt-Putt,” a lovable black lab named Inky, a diving raft for swimming, and a collection of Irish and Jewish kids---Dunfeys and Hirshbergs…the Hirshbergs had five children…best friends and neighbors of Walter and Barbara’s four Dunfey offspring.  A photo reflects the fun of that summer vacation, surrounded by Dr. King’s “dream” of “prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.” Here were his children with other kids—black and white; Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish—discovering what they all had in common. Stories, like this recollection from that summer of ’68, need to live on, a legacy passed from one generation to the next. Oh, we know there are family stories of foibles and failures, of material things, of misunderstandings and hurts. What kind of stories will our children have to tell? What lasting lesson was learned from that “summer vacation”? Perhaps, the importance of invitation, of offering a safe space in time of need; of making time for the simple things.. As we consider Dr. King’s life and legacy, perhaps we can consider too what opportunities we have to ‘do something’ in the days ahead—and these acts of doing something, whether big or small, can make a real difference. When times feel hopeless and we’re feeling helpless, we often have an opportunity to "do something."
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 By David Hudson As an educator we’re not supposed to have favorites, but one of the courses I enjoying teaching the most at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) is our Communication Studio class. It’s a hands-on class designed to give our communication majors real-world experience. It pairs students with local businesses and nonprofits. The clients share a project they’re working on or a communication challenge they’re facing and work with the students to find and implement a solution. Last spring, my students partnered with a Global Citizens Circle (GCC) team to bring some previously recorded videos to a wider audience. They were able to help GCC and learned a great deal in return. In many ways, it was a typical project. Our clients often have some content—audio clips, photos, video, or written material—that they’d like to share. Unfortunately, they often lack the resources to repurpose the material or the skills to tailor the material for a different audience. In this case, it was simply a matter of time. GCC knew what they wanted to accomplish, but just didn’t have enough hands. Indeed, GCC had already generated written summaries of some video recordings, but it all still needed to be packaged for the web. My students loved working with GCC, President and Executive Director Theo Dunfey and Assistant Director Phoebe de Larrabeiti in this case, and really appreciated the feedback they received as they worked on summarizing and adapting the content for the GCC website. Theory is all well and good, but nothing quite replaces a real-world project. In addition, my students had the opportunity to learn about GCC and its mission. They also took a great deal of pride in knowing they helped GCC bring their story to a wider audience. You can see the fruits of this collaboration on GCC’s Dialogue2Action page. I hope you will check out the videos and discussion guides and consider using these powerful tools within your own organizations and networks. David Hudson joined the communication program at SNHU in 2021, bringing vast experience in the IT, consulting, and entrepreneurship realm to public speaking and other courses. After years of pitching to investors, partners, and consumers, he’s honed his ability to explain just about anything to anyone. Hudson earned his BA in Computer Science at Dartmouth College, a Master of Public Administration from the University of New Hampshire, and has been active in the nonprofit sector throughout his career. He’s been a TEDx organizer since 2013, event host, and speaker team co-lead as well as a longtime speaker coach. Please note: Each week, we invite members of the greater Global Citizens Circle community to contribute to GCC Voices. The views and opinions expressed in each blog post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Global Citizens Circle. My students loved working with GCC...theory is all well and good, but nothing quite replaces a real-world project. |
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