MLK sign finds a home at Second District

Yahoo

13-02-2025

Four years after it was first proposed, a large sign honoring Martin Luther King Jr. finally has a permanent home inside the main entrance to Second District Elementary School.
'We chose to put in our vestibule,' Principal Kelli Trenga said this week, 'so that it would be in a high-traffic area where everyone could see it and appreciate the beauty of the plaque and our commitment to carrying out his dream of equality and fairness and hope for a better future for us all.'
The idea for the sign was conceived in 2021 by the Rev. Gary Manning, who proposed placing it outside the school along South Main Street, much like a historical marker already placed near the school. That marker, near the intersection of South Main Street and Autumn Drive, honors the role that Meadville resident Elias Allen played in the desegregation of Pennsylvania schools.
After months of bouncing back and forth between meetings of Crawford Central School Board and Meadville City Council in an effort to work out concerns over the location of the sign, potential copyright infringement concerns and worries about maintenance and the sign's durability, Manning's efforts appeared to go nowhere and the sign remained unposted.
In fact, before being contacted by The Meadville Tribune on Wednesday, Manning was unaware that the sign was recently installed inside a custom case in the school.
'That's just excellent,' he said upon hearing the news. 'I wasn't really sure about them putting it outside because I didn't know how the weather would affect it, but I'm glad they had use for it.'
Manning credited Deputy Mayor Larry McKnight for continuing the effort to have the sign placed in a prominent location, while McKnight gave much of the credit for the sign finally finding a home to Crawford Central Superintendent Jenn Galdon.
The 68-year-old McKnight attended Second District himself — he still recalls when the cafeteria was added to the building — and said the school made for a good location for the sign given the history of desegregation in Meadville.
As the historical marker outside the school explains, an 1854 law mandated segregation in Pennsylvania schools. In fall 1880, Allen, who was Black, attempted to enroll his two children in what were then known as the South Ward schools, which allowed whites only at the time.
When his attempt was unsuccessful, he appealed to Crawford County Court of Common Pleas and Judge Pearson Church ruled the 1854 law unconstitutional. On July 4, 1881, the state Legislature amended the law to prohibit segregation.
Such efforts, McKnight said, provided a foundation for the advances achieved by the Civil Rights Movement that King helped lead decades later.
'For students, I hope it makes them realize that segregation is not something people just started fighting about when Martin Luther King came on the scene,' he added. 'I want kids to realize even way back then there was a fight for desegregation. It was not a one-sided thing. You had Blacks as well as whites that did not agree with it and fought, actually made laws to have it changed.'
Placing the sign near the school's entrance, where it is protected from the weather and in a high-traffic area, is a 'win-win for the community and the school,' according to Galdon.
'It looks great and it's right there when you walk in,' she said. 'It felt like it was important for the community to put it in a nice spot.'
McKnight was optimistic that the sign will serve as a reminder of the importance of inclusiveness in Meadville's history.
'I hope that our kids and people who come and visit will realize this area played a very significant part in changing history,' he said, 'and that we can continue to do that, regardless of what color you are.'