We are OPEN on Monday, January 20, Martin Luther King Day.

The South Orange/Maplewood community, where our studio is based, and our surrounding communities of Newark, Irvington, East Orange, Orange, West Orange, Livingston, and Millburn, are a diverse group. Our waiting room has almost a dozen languages. Our students belong to many faiths, and our ethnicities are as diverse as the Crayola 64 pack, if not more so. Our genders are multiple, and our families are inclusive. None of these factors impacts a student’s level of success in our studio. The only piece that matters is the color of a student’s belt. This is not a byproduct of fate, but the success and accomplishment of an individual’s efforts.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of my favorite people from history. His struggle, and the movement he led, are about a universal call for equality, freedom and dignity. Our studio, to the best of my efforts, is a living embodiment of his “radical” human dream. It is for this reason that I feel it necessary that the best way to honor Dr. King and his legacy is to be open on the day when we recognize his legacy and his greatness. Our studio is living his dream!

I wish that one day we would be able to say the same about all corners of the country, and the global community. In the very least, I know that the microcosm world where I spend most of my time, with so many of you, is, indeed, such a place.

Regardless of how you choose to celebrate Dr. King’s holiday, I wish you a day of kindness, generosity, and respect.