SPLC Produces Educational Guide for 'The Mountaintop,' Broadway Play About Night Before King Assassination

Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, is partnering with the award-winning play The Mountaintop to produce an educational guide that will be used by high school and college students to explore the play’s themes of social justice.
 
The Mountaintop, which opens today at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Broadway, stars Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Angela Bassett. It is written by Katori Hall and directed by Tony Award nominee Kenny Leon.

Taking place on April 3, 1968, The Mountaintop is a gripping reimagining of events the night before King was assassinated. After delivering one of his most memorable speeches, an exhausted King retires to his room at the Lorraine Motel while a storm rages outside. When a mysterious stranger (Angela Bassett) arrives with some surprising news, King is forced to confront his destiny and his legacy.
 
“We are delighted to partner with Mountaintop producers to bring the lessons of the play to students who will see it and carry its message with them,” said Maureen Costello, Teaching Tolerance director. “The Mountaintop and the educational guide calls citizens of all ages to action. In the end, this is really how we honor the memory of Dr. King.”
 
The educational guide aims to help students understand ideas about leadership, passion and hope presented in the play, generate discussion and point to actions they can take to help resolve injustice and inequality where they see it. The guide meets national standards.

As one of the nation’s leading providers of anti-bias education resources, Teaching Tolerance reaches hundreds of thousands of educators and millions of students annually through its Teaching Tolerance magazine, multimedia teaching kits, online curricula, professional development resources and classroom-friendly social justice documentaries. These materials are provided to educators at no cost.