55 years closer to Martin Luther King Junior’s dream
National Archives and Records Administration
Seniors have the opportunity to participate in the 12th annual dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Oration Competition and Gala. Through writing an essay and possibly advancing to the oration portions, students can win up to thousands of dollars in scholarship money,
August 28, 2018
Tuesday marks the 55th anniversary of Martin Luther King Junior’s ‘I Have a Dream Speech’, and his impact is far from a thing of the past.
“I think that Dr. King did so much for this country with his leadership and in a time when our country was struggling and to a certain extent, it still is struggling with race relations, and his use of peaceful nonviolent protest and his moral leadership made him one of the true great Americans in the history of our nation,” world history teacher Jeff Crowe said. “His legacy has benefited so many people in this country and continues to do so. I think that he has a lot to teach us about ourselves and his example is something that generations can admire and use for their own time.”
Despite issues that have occured in the last 55 years, steps have been taken to limit racial barriers, coming closer to the dream world Dr. King described in Washington, D.C.
“I do think it has been achieved because currently legally racism is not a part of our legislature, however, there still is discrimination among societal standards,” senior Christopher Yu said. “I believe that blacks aren’t limited by the government but perhaps there might be some underlying bias to different people.”
Beyond the estimated 250,000 people listening to Dr. King deliver his speech, his words still resonate today.
“It was a really important time in history,” freshman Kelsey Madden said. “I think we have come a long way because we do things today to try to make sure everyone’s treated equally.”
