On Jan. 21, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day, a discussion about the Emancipation Proclamation was hosted at Clayton High School by the CHS History Department.

The main topic of this discussion was the Emancipation Proclamation, an important part of American history.

“January 1, 2013 was the sesquicentennial, or 150 year anniversary of the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, and that seemed like an important historical event to recognize,” history teacher Rick Kordenbrock said.

The idea for the day had been discussed since the last school year.

“At the end of school last year, the social studies teachers went to lunch together, and the idea came out of our discussion that day,” Kordenbrock said. “We wanted to do something to promote the appreciation and study of history.”

Although it was not something that students were required to go to, an estimated number of 200 people came. Of these estimated 200 people, there weren’t just students from CHS, but also students from other schools, teachers and even some local residents.

“I believe the event was successful, and some evidence of that was that throughout the entire three hours, there was never a time that I felt embarrassed by the size of the crowd,” Kordenbrock said. “Clayton students really came through and I am appreciative of that.”

Because of the success of this event, students may be able to look forward to it happening again next year.

“It has been suggested to me by a couple of students that this could start a tradition of CHS hosting some kind of MLK Day event,” Kordenbrock said. “Maybe even the same kind of event but with a different topic relating to African American history as a tribute to Dr. King. I have not yet seriously discussed with my colleagues or Dr. Gutchewsky, but I plan to.”