In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, a group of Houston ISD students participated in an annual oratory competition.
In the 29th annual Foley MLK Jr. Oratory Competition, Blackshear Elementary fifth-grader Montoia Murray won again. When she spoke last Friday at downtown Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, she enthralled the audience.
“Dr. King, a drum major for justice, kept the rhythm of the heartbeat of America alive,” Murray stated. “Dr. King envisioned an America where justice flowed like a mighty river.”
Prior to his murder in 1968, King served as a leader in the civil rights movement. This Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday honoring his legacy.
RELATED: Parades, volunteer work, and education will be held in Houston to commemorate MLK Day.
Dallas and Chicago also host the MLK Jr. Oratory Competition.
This year, ten Houston ISD students in the fourth and fifth grades participated in the Houston competition. “What would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tell us about our responsibility as citizens and leaders in America today?” was the subject of their three to five-minute remarks.
The assessors were impressed with Murray’s charisma, self-assurance, and narrative abilities.She went on to discuss the need of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, in America.
“We need bypass surgery because our country’s heartbeat lost its rhythm,” Murray stated. Stabilizing our country’s pulse is essential to our democracy. America decided to elude punishment following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery shortly after COVID began. We avoided peace on January 6th, the day of the uprising.
With his victory, Murray became the first repeat winner in the history of the oratory competition.
Second place went to Windsor Village Elementary’s fifth-grader, Jae’Lauryn Brown. Rashaud Williams, a fourth-grader at MacGregor Elementary, took third place.
At least $100 was given to each of the competition’s finalists; Murray took home $1,000, Brown took home $500, and Williams took home $300. A personalized plaque, a gift bag, and an Apple iPad were also given to the finalists.
