Keeping Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream alive
Poetry, prose and Scholarship contest honors MLK’s memory.
More than 80 students from Dayton area schools competed in the 33rd MLK Art, Poetry, Prose and Scholarship Contest.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. But it is clear from the winners of the 33rd Margaret E. Peters’s MLK Art, Poetry, Prose and Scholarship Contest that his dream still lives on.
Winners were announced in a ceremony on Jan. 12 at Thurgood Marshall STEM High School, where winning prose, poetry and art were on display. This year marks both the 50th anniversary of Martin King’s 1968 assassination and his Poor People’s Campaign.
Amaha Sellassie, the 2018 chair of Monday’s MLK Day March, said King promoted humanity through acknowledging and rectifying injustice.
“Our differences are our own social construct,” he said.
The MLK Memorial Dayton March starts at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 15 at the Charles Drew Health Center, 323 W. Third Street. Participants are asked to make signs promoting justice. Like the march, the poetry, prose and arts contest is promoted by MLK Dayton.
More than 80 students from Dayton area schools competed in the contest, according to Darsheel Kaur, an event organizer. Eighteen winners from seven school were selected. Below are some of the winning entries from the prose and poetry competition.
Violence is not a good thing to be apart of, especially when it is happening in your neighborhood. There’s a lot more gun violence in the neighborhoods and a lot of people are in gangs nowadays. More children are dying because of this. We need to come together as a country and work on helping our neighborhoods become safer and preventing a large ratio of deaths in our neighborhoods each year. We need to work on getting the drugs, guns, and negativity away from the youth. We need to show the youth what is
Kishuan Hill, ninth grader at Thurgood Marshall Seventh to ninth grade-group prose winner, “VIOLENCE IS NEVER THE ANSWER”
wrong and what is right and teach them to be successful and more productive with their lives.
Each neighborhood should come together and do a fundraiser or even a cookout to keep the youth out of trouble and offff the streets.
The adults need to realize the type of impact that they have on the youth. They set the example for us, andwe need themto be here for us because without an example for the youth, we’re just going to thinkwe can do whatever we want without a consequence. We should clean up our neighborhood and make it a safer place for people to live.
I dream that one day the neighborhoods in the United States could just come together as one and realize howbad violence is, becausewhen I get older, I don’twantmykids growing up in a bad neighborhood. I want my kids to be safe. I want to have an impact on lessening violence in neighborhoods because I’m only fourteen, and I want to live my life and grow up in a good environment.
I don’t want to be a part of violence, so I’mgoing to take a stand and use my voice to tell others to not be inflfluenced by violence.
Youthplay a critical role in the struggle for justice because they are the next generation.
They are the future voices and determine how our society will be in the years to come.
As far as justice, youth have to use their voices to speakout against the injustices of the law and world around us.
The young have to use their unalienable rights granted to them by the constitution and assemble together and peacefully protest their beliefs.
Society overlooks the young and considers them to be “weak,” having no voice, but in reality youth are very strong and superior.
Youth have not had enough time for their minds to be conformed and stabilized to the opinions of society.
Teens haveablank mind, or what Lockewould have stated a “tabula rasa,” and this is shaped by experiences, so the young are stronger than what they appear and make a huge difffffffffffference in the fifight for justice.
A prime example of the youth taking advantage of the justice systemwould be the creation of the organi- zation“Black LivesMatter.” “BLM” is an activist movement, which started in the African American community, that campaigns against violence and racismtowards black people.
Thisassociationall began because the young African Americans witnessed the cruel and unusual treatment of their people and wanted to make a difffffffffffference.
Although the group is not onlymade of children, there are a lot of youth participantswhowant to fifight out against policebrutality, and right these wrongs in our corrupt nation.
Black Lives Matter speaks out against worldwide tragedies.
It is able to broadcast to the public what the government would want to keep in secret.
Apowerfulmotto “BLM” goes by is “they are the rallying cry forALL Black lives striving for liberation.”
Thismeans a lot because they are fifighting for justice for all and not just a certain person.
As citizens, we have to realize and practice those rights that our founding fathers granted us.
The youth generation is more outspoken than previous age groups, and this is why I feel their role is so essential for the struggle for justice.
Social media is a huge factor that youth can use that will help them right injustices.
Technologyhasadvanced majorly in thepast decades, and teenagers now use social media accounts to communicate with their peers, spread news, put information out to others, etc.
Some may argue that these accounts do more harm than good, but in the case for fifighting for justice, it’s very benefificial.
Socialmedia allows these young people to publicly display cruel treatment, especially police brutality against African Americans, to the world and let others see the crimes being committed.
The older generation did not have this helpful tool, so itwas harder for themto deliver and get themessage across, which iswhere our youth take the burden and carry out their purpose.
Most teens are very quick and immune to all of the newmachinery, and with a tap of a button, they canquickly go viral, which is why they are so fundamental for the fifight.
With the help of social media and our youth, together they take the blindfold off of Americans and expose them to the reality of our so-called “Land of the Free,” which is truly all a fantasy.
There are many other reasons why youth are so critical in the struggle for justice.
Don’t get me wrong. Adults contribute tons of help towards the fight, becausewithout theirhelp, everything wouldn’t be able to get done properly.
The struggle and fight for justice takes everyone’s aid to succeed and see changes, and by everyone Imean every member of the family.
The fifight will not be easy because there are a lot of wrongs in difffffffffffferent aspects of culture, and some may bemore seen than others.
We must keep using our voices and speaking out against these unfit and unusual ways, keep using our resources (technology) to help us, and never let the fifire in you for justice die down.
I believe if everyone does these things and lives this lifestyle plus more, the struggle for justice will get easier and we will see less abuse against our human rights worldwide.
What will you do now to right a wrong you’ve witnessed?
In Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have aDream” speech, one of his dreams he speaks on is judgingpeople by their character and not the color of their skin.
“I have a dream thatmy four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (MLK Jr 5).
I decided to pick this specific quote inside of the speech because this is themost common dream I bring to reality on a dayto- day basis.
Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired me to have an open mind about every person I meet.
When I’m in the grocery store, at the shopping mall, in traffiffic, and at other every day places, I amalways open to meeting new friends no matter what race you are.
I know a lot of people, some who are close friends that are rude or not as friendly to races that aren’t their own.
No matter how close I am with someone, I will always tell you right from wrong.
For instance, I once had a friend and she was very smart, but shewould always showadifffffffffffferent side of herself when we were around difffffffffffferent races.
At the time I worked at a shoe store inside of the mall and mostly all of my coworkerswere Caucasian.
My friend saw one of my coworkers in the mall and started to criticize her clothing and it hurt my feelings.
I told my friend that she was wrong.
Of course shedidn’t think what she said was a big deal, but she apologized for offffffffffffending me.
When I told her howIfelt about judging someone she didn’t knowbased on their appearance, she listened and her mood changed.
I believe she actually understood what she said was wrong and why because ever since that day she has made friends within difffffffffffferent races, and she doesn’t degrade other races tomyknowledgeanymore.
Another point that stood out to me spoken by Dr. King was when we as Americans start to come together, we will become united and we will overcome the racial injustices within our country.
Wewill then become the great nation America is supposed to be.
“Whenwe allowfreedom to ring, when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, blackmen andwhitemen, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last, Free at last, Great God almighty, we are free at last.’”
I have already paved the way for most people that are around me.
I surround myself with good Godlyhuman beings, andwe all love to make the world a better place one step at a time.
It is so easy to be kind to others you do and do not know.
Love and kindness were the keys to all happiness when I was growing up, and to see people hurt and lonelymakesmeputmyself in their shoes to see how I would feel if someone was rude tome because of the color of my skin.
That is why I encourage the people around me to always be kind no matter who the person is.
The main reason I love Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech is that through all of the trials and tribulations of African Americans, he stands to speak in a peaceful, forthright and passionate manner about an issue so controversial in that time frame. It makes me want to go out and protest more andwork harder to stop violence inmycommunity because there are moreways to beheard and understood.
“With this faithwewill be able to transform the jangling discords of ournation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faithwewill be able towork together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day” (MLK Jr 5).
Knowing that I ammakingadifffffffffffferencewhen I help my peers calmdown from something that is bothering themto thepointwhere they want to involve violence really inspires me to work harder to help our country be as great as it can be one day.
When I see someone angry and they want to add violence to the situation, I completely steer them away.
If I don’t, I try my best, saying things my mother to l d me whe n I was younger, because a lot of peopledon’t have that guidance that I did growing up: “You’re worth more than violence,” “You shouldn’t let anyone take you out of your character,” “You’re too smart and pretty,” etc. In conclusion, I believe in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dreams.
I live by them in everyday situations.
I lead by the example of the “I Have a Dream” speech without even recognizing it.
I would love to get more people in my community involved in making our country a better, more friendly, loving and free country.
Different race or not, everyone deserves to be treated equally because of the simple fact that we were all born humans.
Love and kindnesswere the keys to all happinesswhen Iwas growing up, and to see people hurt and lonely makesme putmyself in their shoes to see howIwould feel if someone was rude to me because of the color ofmy skin.
Oh, howmyheart breaks! With every shamed eyeLighter, whiter! Their hands reach to the sky
And confusion settles. Haven’t we proven our worth?
Dark chocolate is richer Than the jewels of the earth.
Yet still they cry Those sorrowful pleas For our country is not One easily pleased. An internal ailment Has clouded their eyes, And the true judge of beauty
Has been disguised. The battle’s been fought, We thoughtwe hadwon, But I can easily see, There’s still more toovercome. Poem”
I don’t wanna be black, I don’t wanna be white, I just wanna beaman today. I been up to no good, Iwish I could change it all. If I could rearrange my heart to be good, I’d rather be a di ff ff ff ff ff ff er en tm an in another world than work for the man in my universe.
I wonder what would it feel like. If you’re from where I’mfrom, everyday ain’tmagic. We betray each other, we lie, we take from one another. I’mlocked up and half my friend.
And then when I get out, or I make it out, I’m expected to somehowgive back to the people who never wanted to me get set free.
So black I’m blue, so brown I’m down.
I’ve been everywhere but up, and when I fifinally get up, I am ravaged with guilt and pain and shame.
The darker you are, the closer you are to dirt and theymake sure it hurts and I’m tired of hurting.
I’m tiredof being looked at, second guessed, doubted, feared.
Everybody in the world onlywants one thing: Infifinite power and a pocket full of wealth.
We will overcome this constant feeling of our mind and body being on the edge.
We will rejoice in this gift that is life.
Starting with mental health.
Wewill accept ourselves as we are and we will be happy with the person we see in the mirror.
As youth, we are told not to make waves.
The world we live in, fifilled with pain,su ff ff ff ff ff ff e ring, evil, and Injustice Peace /pēs/-noun — freedom from disturbance; quiet andtranquility Jus·tice / j st s/- noun —Just behavior or treatment
“Don’t Make Waves” They tell us not tomake a disturbance
A disturbance against these ways could be dangerous, they say Disastrous Catastrophic
“Don’t Make Waves” A dIsturbance As if we, the youth, are disturbing the peace.
… as if there was peace here to begin with…
Wewere born inaworld fifilled to the brim with violence and oppression
We were taught ways to AVOID conflflict and not how to RESOLVE it
We were told “Don’t Make Waves”
Today. We stand. Tall. Proud. Undefeatable. Unafraid. And we, Make Waves.