Students celebrate diversity and Martin Luther King, Jr. in Wilbraham

WILBRAHAM, Mass. (WWLP) - Wibraham & Monson Academy students may not have been in class on this Martin Luther King Junior Day, but they went to school to celebrate diversity and commit to tolerance.

Hundreds of students filled the academy's chapel Monday afternoon where the school celebrated the life and legacy of the civil rights icon.  The purpose, according to Wilbraham & Monson Academy head Rodney Labrecque, was to show the world how this "global" school where students hail from more than two dozen countries, embraces tolerance.

Wilbraham's Jessica Smith, who performed during the celebration, agrees.  "So instead of MLK Day getting the day off, we take a day on.  We get to show and experience our diversity.  Around school, we get to experience the opportunities that we have here with all these different countries," said Smith.

Justin Singletary of Boston read Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" Speech for his performance.  "It's his speeches and his works and what he stood for is like a monument in Time.  And it's not just a memory.  It's something that still needs to be focused on to this day," Singletary told 22News.Students performed  songs, dance and poetry.All of the participants were asked to pledge five hours of local community service in tribute to Dr.King.