Pastor Jason Lumpkin Focuses on Walker Values, Taking Action in MLK Day Assemblies

The Walker School was honored to welcome Pastor Jason Lumpkin to campus for Middle and Upper School assemblies commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His message urged students to move beyond dates and speeches and instead reflect on how Walker’s core values shape the people they are becoming.

An Atlanta resident and Walker parent, Pastor Lumpkin spoke about Dr. King not only as a historic figure, but as a young person who began asking big questions early in life, questions about fairness, justice and responsibility. Those questions, he shared, helped shape the principles that guided Dr. King’s leadership and courage, and they are the same kinds of questions Walker students are encouraged to ask every day.

The assemblies were led by members of the Middle and Upper School Diversity Alliance groups. Throughout the programs, Pastor Lumpkin connected Dr. King’s principles to Walker’s values of curiosity, dignity, honor and kindness. He reminded students that these values are not abstract ideas, but daily choices, how we treat others, how we respond when situations are uncomfortable and how we show up for our community.

Using a relatable “sweet and sour” Sour Patch Kids analogy, Pastor Lumpkin described the pursuit of justice as both challenging and rewarding. Doing the right thing is not always easy, he noted, but it is meaningful, and it matters.

Curiosity was a central theme of his message. Pastor Lumpkin encouraged students to think of curiosity not just as asking questions, but as taking the time to reflect, listen and act. Like Dr. King, students are called to examine the world around them, consider different perspectives and take responsibility for positive change, lessons that align closely with the work happening in Walker classrooms, he said.

Pastor Lumpkin also shared why Walker has been the right school for his own family. His children attend Walker, and he said their decision was rooted in the school’s genuine commitment to living its values.

“There’s a richness that comes from being in community with people who don’t all think the same way,” he said. “What I see at Walker is a place that challenges every individual with guiding principles, principles that aren’t owned by one religion. Values like kindness, dignity and honor are things we should all live by.”

He noted how intentional it feels to see those values reinforced across all divisions. “We have been at Walker since Primary School, and you see the values woven throughout all of the divisions. That consistency matters, and it’s why we feel so connected here and why we stay here.”

The assemblies concluded with thoughtful, student-led Q&A sessions and a clear takeaway: Growth requires action. Pastor Lumpkin encouraged students to speak up when something doesn’t feel right, choose dignity even when it’s difficult and take small, meaningful steps to live out their values within their own circles.

His message reflected a belief shared across the Walker community, that education is not only about academic growth, but about nurturing character, empathy and a sense of responsibility that students carry with them well beyond their time on Walker’s campus.