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Winners of King essay contest announced |
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Monday, 16 February 2009 |
Students of the Benton School District once again made it tough for Courier staff members to pick winners in the fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest.
Those who placed first, second and third in their respective divisions were chosen based on creativity, grammar, thinking “outside the box” and how well they stuck to the subject.
Presented by the Ralph Bunche Community Corp., the essay topic was “Child-ren of the Dream.” The question read: “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘I have a dream that one day my 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.’ Explain how the world today is living up to Dr. King’s dream. For example, Barack Obama is the nation’s first African-American President. How does this show that children today can achieve Dr. King’s dream in America?”
In the first-third grade category, third-grader Jahnai Daniels won, second-grader Caitlin Ginther placed second and second-grader Jasmine Robinson placed third. All attend Angie Grant Elementary School in Benton.
In the fourth-fifth grade category, fifth-grader Emily Harp won. She attends Ringgold Elementary School in Benton. Fourth-grader Kelsey Archer placed second and fifth-grader Haley Reed placed third. Kelsey and Haley both attend Angie Grant Elementary School.
In the middle school category, Caitlin Autry won, and Sarah Jackson placed second and Olivia Cathey placed third. All are seventh-graders at Benton Middle School.
In the junior high school category, Meredith Francis won, Alaina Smith placed second and Hunter Law placed third. All are in the eighth grade at Benton Junior School.
Joshua Layman, a junior, won in the high school category. He was the only contestant from Benton High School.
“Our thanks goes out to the educators and parents who encouraged their students to get involved in the essay Contest,” Robin Freeman with the Ralph Bunche group said. “This is a unique opportunity to help students make a connection to the life, dreams and visions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We value youth participation and hope that this learning process will help them dream their own dreams, just like Dr. King.”
The Ralph Bunche group, named after the civil rights activist who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, has been organizing the local MLK festivities since 2005. Its purpose reportedly is to provide opportunities to increase the economic and social development of low-income individuals, families and other organizations. It also seeks to improve the quality of life in Benton’s Ralph Bunche Community.
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