‘TAKE ME TO THE KING’: KIDS ECHO ICON IN CONTEST
Students draw inspiration from civil rights leader in competition
The announcement came over the school’s audio system around 2:15 p.m., earlier than usual, Brandon Curbow told a crowded Antioch Missionary Baptist Church on Friday.
The Crespo Elementary School student recalled the students moving to the corner of the room and his teacher placing a cover over the window so an intruder wouldn’t be able to see in. The rules and procedures were laid out in the school’s lockdown drill.
That’s what Brandon remembered hoping “the longest three minutes of my life” was: a drill, not something more sinister.
“I don’t believe Dr. King would have imagined that schoolchildren are taught to huddle in the corner to protect themselves from active shooters,” he said. “I don’t believe that Dr. King would have imagined that this would be our America in 2020, but it is.”
Brandon’s address moved
those in the pews of the church, and his words were later met with reward: $1,000 and the first-place prize in the 24th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition.
One by one on Friday morning, the dozen finalists — 4th- and 5thgraders — took the stage and stirred the crowd with speeches about what they felt King’s vision would be for the United States in 2020. Their delivery and diction would put most college students to shame.
The students summoned Langston Hughes’ “Harlem” and Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” Ayomide Lawrence, who preached about an America in need of a heart transplant, came in second. And the third-place finisher, Jenny Teague, pretended she was addressing subscribers to her “Jenny Justified” YouTube channel.
Sean Gair, another finalist, culminated his speech with a song, belting “take me to the king” and eliciting a standing ovation from the raucous crowd.
‘From Dr. King’s dream’
Many, of course, addressed King’s greatest legacy: the fight for civil rights and unity.
“I didn’t get to choose the color of my skin, my parents, my family or where I come from,” said Aniyah Williams, who described herself as a “little black girl from Dr. King’s dream.”
“I only get to choose where I’m going,” she said.
Gabrielle Marshall took a more literal approach. She wove together a metaphor for the country’s vision as if it were eyesight.
“It may be you that has tunnel vision if you think racism is a thing of the past,” she said. “And it may be you that has astigmatism if you think the courts treat everyone equally under the law.”
The contest is sponsored by the Foley & Lardner law firm, which also holds one in Dallas and expanded this year to Chicago. The competitors from Friday’s competition taped spots for “Good Morning America” before the contest, and the show will air their snippets on Monday’s episode.
The purpose of it is to remember Martin Luther King, said Claude Treece, a partner at Foley and longtime event chair. “To make sure we have an event that recognizes and pays tribute to him, his actions, his words, the changes he’s brought about.”
Months of training
Friday’s finals were the culmination of a monthslong competition, dating back to when administrators in the 24 participating Houston Independent School District schools sent out the first requests for interested students to apply in September.
The announcement at Valley West Elementary School caught Gabrielle’s eye.
Gabrielle was hardly a public speaking novice. At 6, she asked her mom, Sherise Marshall, to send her to theater camp. Now 11, she’s already mapped out a future that includes Carnegie Mellon University and a master of fine arts at the Yale School of Drama. She has lobbied her mom to move to Los Angeles.
“Just consider moving to LA with me,” Marshall said Gabrielle told her.
This isn’t her first speech competition. So when she arrived last fall as a new student at Valley West and administrator Erica Rudolph made the announcement, she knew she wanted to participate.
Gabrielle researched King and tried to connect his words and actions to the events she sees on the news today. She wrote, revised and memorized her speech months ago, performing it hundreds of times for teachers, lawyers and relatives.
The speech, like those for the other 11 finalists, was impressive. The lawyers at Foley selected her as Valley West’s winner, besting 35 classmates to advance to the semifinals.
Last week, Rudolph and Marshall enlisted another helper as Gabrielle prepared for the final rounds.
Olutobi Adeyeri had been there before. Tobi was Valley West’s representative in the competition a few years ago. She had experience and the benefit of hindsight. So for about two weeks, she would take the bus to Gabrielle’s school to help her practice.
That’s what they did Wednesday afternoon, five days after Gabrielle emerged from the semifinals as one of the dozen finalists. The audience was just her mom, Rudolph and Tobi.
“Our country as a whole needs to go to the optometrist,” Marshall said from the stage in one part of her speech.
Tobi, standing in the middle of the auditorium, repeated “as a whole,” adding emphasis and making a gesture with her hands, reminding Gabrielle to do the same.
“As a whole,” Gabrielle said again, louder this time and with the motion.
“It may be you that has tunnel vision,” Gabrielle says later. Tobi filmed that take, and afterward, she and Gabrielle reviewed the tape.
“Yay!” Rudolph called out from the side. “That one was better.”
On Friday, Gabrielle had her hand motions and diction perfected.
“How ironic, they say when people have perfect vision, they have 20/20 vision,” she said. “Here we are, now beginning the year 2020.”
Treece, the law partner who emceed the event, said his least favorite part is the end, when judges must select the top three performances from the talented bunch. They’re all so good, he said.
While Gabrielle was disappointed to miss the top three, her family assured her she made them proud.
“The most important thing is to have fun,” Marshall said she told her daughter before the event. “As long as you know that you worked hard, you’re always a winner in my book.”