MLK Day contest winners named
Three Woodland youngsters have been recognized by the City Council for remembering the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in poetry and chalk.
On Tuesday night, Community Services Director Christine Engel reported that Holy Rosary School 7th grader Lucas Sanchez and Talia Cadena, a 10th grader at Woodland High School, submitted poetry that really resonated in the contributions of King to racial equity.
Also honored was Joey Hernandez Hill, a 5th grader at Beamer Elementary School, who created a sidewalk chalk art image of Dr. King.
As part of Engel’s presentation to the council, both Sanchez and Cadena were able to read their poems, although because of the coronavirus pandemic, everything was done via Zoom video.
The poetry and chalk art were both part of the 2021 celebration to King. In contrast to previous years, the events were all done remotely to protect the public against spreading the virus.
Students in grades 7-12 were invited to write a poem about a vision of peace within the community as part of a Youth Poetry Contest. Prizes were awarded in the two age categories of middle school students and high school students.
The Sidewalk Chalk Peace Mural Contest asked community members to create a sidewalk mural at home. Prizes were to be awarded for first place for those in K3rd grades, 4th-6th grades, middle school students, high school students, and 18 and over.
The other notable submission came from the Woodland Police Department.
The poems submitted were:
By Lucas Sanchez
Like Martin Luther King Jr., I have always dreamed of peace,
And since the longest time, fighting for it has never come to cease.
The law of segregation went on for years,
And because of it, people’s own skin fills them with fear.
But one day I believe that everyone will feel free,
and when that time comes, the entire world will be filled with glee.
But unfortunately, the world is filled with sadness and oppression,
Because when it comes to peace and equality, people seem to deafen.
And it because of those people that are being foolish and dumb,
That the thing that is so far just a dream, is freedom.
By Talia Cadena
We’ve all heard about the dream You probably have some of your own
One of mine is of a community
A place I’d be proud to call home
A place where people don’t live on the side of the road
Where it’s common sense that no means no
For that matter a place where common sense is common and
Walking down the street doesn’t need extra caution
Where rainbows are equal to straight lines
Where self-expression is not a hate crime A time
when nothing but the content of your hear matters
When threats aren’t lost in classroom chatter
Right now gunshots are dismissed with the nod of a head and the news gets old when someone is dead
In this town it’s easy to look away and even easier to smile and blend in and be fake
We ignore and store away things that can be changed
Instead of taking a stand we just sit and complain
Continue life in the city of trees all aflame
To conceal all this makes me want to scram
Is this really what you want in your dream?