MLK Essay/Poetry Winners

1st Place
Chelsea Walker, 11th Grade
Hume-Fogg High School

We
Are not
a white
community.
We are not
a black
community.
Our faces they do not shine red,
they do not shine yellow not blue not purple,
our faces
shine human.

But our walls, they shine
definition
discrimination
difference.

“Who are you?”
You’re different.
Yes, I am and so are you and I am proud not
because my skin is white but
because I have the ability in my heart
to not see it as
so.

But the walls they see my skin
they see your skin,
and these walls
they hold within them judgments
unspoken but burrowed so deep
within their history that they do not see humans,
they see colors,
differences.

But we do what we can do.
We do look different.
We are different.

But judgment by difference tears down the very foundation
of anything we could hope to call
community.

So what can we do?
We can, my friends,
take our hearts, make them bulldozers.
Our voices, wrecking balls of equality.
Our minds are our weapons,
and we have a wall to tear down.

We educate, communicate,
appreciate the blatant
love within each of us that
stimulates compassion,
and acceptance.

That,
is what we must do.
Strengthen the community in a war
against intolerance and judgment.
Racism,
only holds us down.

But with love we are so tall
that no wall
can ever contain us
again.

 

2nd Place
Israel Tovar, 11th Grade
Hume-Fogg High School

The American Dream: The Unreachable Dream

I am from immigration
from the saying, “Latinos unidos jamas seran vencidos”
but in reality, I’m from united Latinos who were defeated,
and sent back to poverty and struggle.

I am from Spanglish
parents, Español and everybody else English—
you have an accent, but I know two languages—
you’re not American, but I am a hard-working human being.

I am from racism and discrimination.
From going to a “white” community and feeling eyes looking down upon me
and thinking to myself,
“Hold on. Wait a minute. You don’t know who I am or who I will be.
Oh, and by the way, we live in America, a place
where there are people who are blue, pink, orange, black, brown, any color you can imagine,
so I suggest that you get used to it.”

I am from dedication and determination,
working twice as hard to make up
for my parents’ education.
I am from parents who are not scientists, lawyers or doctors
but have spent their lives trying to survive and
struggling to pay each month’s rent.

I am from unity, struggle, and love
for education that will open the
door to being proud of, and the
door of grasping the far-away star
called the “American dream.”

3rd Place
Anont Silpacharn, 10th Grade
Glencliff High School

However, is it really possible to obtain this “American dream” if a person is illegal? Fortunately, I am not illegal anymore, but I know a lot of people, especially Latinos, who are, in fact, illegal. As a result, they can try, work, and work again, but have no success because at the end of the day, they won’t be able to go to college. Is this fair for a hardworking, dedicated student? Should a document, a piece of paper that says “U.S. Citizen,” really decide the future of thousands of assiduous students full of potential? We say that we are an accepting society, but isn’t it a bit hypocritical to state this when we have these scholars chained and tied down because of a lack of a piece of paper? If we really want to see MLK’s dream come true, we must allow these human beings to be able to obtain an education regardless of economic adversity and legal status. Thus, the U.S. would show that it is not afraid of accepting the easy task of educating a group of outstanding students. America would show that is not afraid of diversity and differences. As a result, by giving this long-sought opportunity, we will be one step closer to truly being America, the land of the free and home of the brave.

MLK’s dream involved peace and prosperity,
But people still live in the slums with no sense of security.
Kids feel like school is useless.
Kids who read and write are labeled doofus.
This is something we need to confess.
If we don’t admit our mistakes we’ll always be something less.
Slavery still exists, slavers think without regret.
The youth taking the ecstasy and later forget
What happened while their lives are being set.
This is something that makes my heart beat,
But this is also something minds can delete.
People might say what I say is insane
Only until child militia get slain.
Don’t worry, though; there can always be a better day
If only we work to keep the devil at bay.
We must work harder than we ever did,
To put a lid on the corrupters’ bids.

1st Place Middle School
Elizabeth Kimbrough, 7th Grade
Overbrook School

Elizabeth’s Dream

I have a dream rooted in the hope that everyone will live in peace and harmony with one another.   Bullying will stop. My friends will be able to walk into school and not fear being insulted because they are different.  My hope is that we focus on learning, getting along, and making the world better rather than putting each other down.    I have a dream that threats of violence and acts of violence will stop. Instead, love will be our answer.  If this dream comes true, my generation will lead all to world peace and put an end to conflicts because of skin color, how much money a person has, and whether the person is male or female.

I have a dream that, in the future, we grow to love one another as God loves us.  Then, gang violence will stop.  Wars will end. World peace will really happen.  My hope is that we will learn to share what we have with those who do not have.   People who have food will feed the hungry.  The rich will give to the poor.  People with homes will shelter the homeless.  People looking for jobs will get one. Teachers will treat every student the same. No one will have to worry about paying a doctor to help them get well.  This is my dream.

I have a dream that we will all feel good about ourselves and work for our dreams to come true.  We do not have to settle for less.  We just need to believe all things are possible.  If we decide to be doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, professors, engineers, or even the President of the United States, we will live out our dream.  If our dream is to come true, like the characters in the Wizard of Oz, we must have the wisdom of the Scarecrow, the heart of the Tin Man, the courage of the Lion, and the determination of Dorothy.  I am a dreamer.  There have been many before me like Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Crispus Attucks, Rosa Parks, Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and President Barack Obama.    These lived their dreams, and I, Elizabeth Adria Kimbrough, shall live my dream until I can join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”

2nd Place Middle School
Gabrielle Depalo, 8th Grade
Bellevue Middle School

 

 

 

 

“I Have a Dream”

I have a dream
And it seems
It may come to pass
I have a dream
That we will be a team
And the future will be better than the past

We are us
And we are strong
And we know right from wrong
We are one
And one day
All our children will play in the sun

I have a dream for love
I have a dream for peace
I have a dream to be
Whoever we want to be

I have a dream
In the grand scheme
Destiny will bring us together
I have a dream
In that grand scheme
We will be bound forever

I have a dream
It’s on its way
I have a dream
It will happen someday

We are all equal
In each and every way
There will be a sequel
My dream will not end today

I have a dream
I’m going to live it through
I have a dream
For me and for you

I have a dream for love
I have a dream for peace
I have a dream to be
Whoever we want to be

 

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