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Jerry Junkins student advances in MLK Jr. speech competition
MLK Jr Oratory Semi Finalist Elijah English, Jerry Junkins Elementary School
By Senitra Horbrook, shorbrook@acnpapers.com
Elijah English thinks he can achieve three things because of what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. achieved in his life.
“Get a good education, be a great NFL player and be able to walk down the hallway at my school and down the street in my neighborhood and not hear some awful racial words,” said English, a fourth grader at Jerry Junkins Elementary School.
English told this to the judges during the semifinals at the Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory competition on Dec. 8 and earned a trip to the final round of the competition, which will take place Jan.15 at the Majestic Theater in downtown Dallas.
“We had started a program with a lot of activities for different cultures. That was one of them,” said Steve Good, managing partner. “This particular one has continued with a life of its own. We started it in our office, and it’s grown. Now, we’re in the Majestic Theater.”
Fourth and fifth grade students from 15 Dallas Independent School District elementary schools are asked to give a three to five minute original speech about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his impact on society.
“We wanted to work with young students to speak to them early on about the teachings of Dr. King and of opportunities an oratory competition would present to them as elementary students—comfort level with public speaking, thoughts about college and a law career, etc.” Good said.
English was one of 15 semifinalists from Jerry Junkins, which is in DISD, but located in Carrollton.
“I talked about how people should work together because that is what Martin Luther King wanted to achieve,” English said.
Like English, many of the participants mentioned goals they felt they could achieve because of Martin Luther King Jr. Fifth grader Trey Phillips thinks Dr. King’s achievements will make it easier for him to become a professional football player.
“He went through a lot of racism, and now segregation is against the law,” Phillips said. “I can’t get denied because of the color of my skin.”
Some of the participants mentioned the impact racism has had on their lives in their speech.
“I talked about my life at my old school and how the sixth grade boys talked about my race,” said Binto Kamara, a fifth grader who spent four weeks practicing and rewriting her speech. “They kept on talking about me and my friends’ color and it was very sad because we were only in first grade.”
Fifth grader Samson Edwards also shared a personal experience with racism in his speech.
“I talked about something that happened in my life that was racist. I was at school and I was eating chocolate ice cream and boy walked up to me and said ‘That’s why he’s black, he eats too much chocolate.’” Edwards said.
Soft-spoken fourth grader Brenda Diaz talked about her family’s experience with discrimination.
“My parents are immigrants, and they told me how they had to move from place to place because of the language they speak and I want to be a president to change a lot of things,” said Diaz, who placed second from Jerry Junkins in the semifinals.
Many of the students said they were nervous to deliver their speech in front of the judges, who were lawyers.
“I got nervous when the judges came and I froze. I messed up on a part, but I kept going,” said Dominique Hall, fourth grader.
Good, the managing partner at Gardere, said he was amazed at how well the students did.
“I would put them up against anybody,” he said. “They are wonderful public speakers. I guess they have enough innocence to get up there and do it.”
Semifinalists from Jerry Junkins Elementary School
Brenda Diaz, fourth grade
Jakari Domino, fifth grade
Samson Edwards, fifth grade
Elijah English, fourth grade
Brianda Gomez, fifth grade
Dominique Hall, fourth grade
Blake Howard, fifth grade
Binto Kamara, fifth grade
Teddy Kamara, fourth grade
Kaitlin McManyion, fifth grade
Trey Phillips, fifth grade
Mauricio Sneed, fourth grade
Caleb Spangler, fifth grade
Denisha Thomas, fourth grade
Marquis Winston, fifth grade
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