Chicago elementary students honor MLK, share his lessons in oratory competition

Alanna Atwood, a fifth grader at Wendell Smith Elementary, thinks Martin Luther King would tell us today to use our words before resorting to violence.

“We shouldn’t be using any weapons or anything because weapons can cause a lot of things, it can cause injuries and more things like that, and we don’t want that in the world,” Alanna said.

The 11-year-old delivered that message to a crowd of more than 150 at the Drake Hotel on Friday in an oratory competition honoring the civil rights icon organized by the Foley and Lardner law firm. She was one of eight Chicago elementary school finalists who wrote and memorized their own speeches for the contest. Alanna won first place.

Frank Pasquesi, managing partner of the firm’s Chicago office, said the event is more than a competition — it's a chance to pass on King’s lessons to a new generation.

“We don’t want people to forget the impactful words and the approach he took,” Pasquesi said. “Words matter, and I think Dr. King taught us that just with words you can accomplish anything.”

The competition was created in Dallas in 1993, and its popularity led to an expansion to Houston and later Chicago, where it is now in its seventh year. More than 260 students participated in this year’s competitions across the three cities.

King has many connections to Chicago. In 1966, King moved his family to the West Side and spent a year in North Lawndale advocating for fair housing, education and jobs.

Alanna’s parents and teachers helped her with her remarks over several weeks. She said she was nervous before taking the stage, but her voice remained steady and poised throughout her remarks.

“Dr. King said we must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline,” Alanna said. “The right message of hope is to be compassionate and respectful.”

Other students spoke about continuing the fight against racism, gun violence in communities and not succumbing to despair when things look bleak.

“There is a lot going on in the news in the world, which is why it's so necessary to find joy in your friendships with people,” Tremond Williams, 5th grader at Cather Elementary, said in his speech. “Find joy in celebrating life.”

Students represented schools including Joseph Warren Elementary, Arthur Dixon Elementary and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago. The crowd encouraged students with claps and shouts of “you got this” when they stumbled.

Each finalist was awarded with a cash prize, a new laptop and a congratulatory letter from Gov. JB Pritzker.

Arshay Cooper, an author who was raised in Chicago, was on the panel of judges who scrutinized the students’ stage presence and decorum, content interpretation and memorization.

He hopes the competition helps show students that their voices are influential, and they don’t have to rely on an adult to enact change.

“I want them to understand that you have a lot of power to go back to your school and you can [inspire] every day in your life,” he said. “Iit can’t just be the teacher. It has to be young people, too.”

Alanna’s mother, Fritzlene Atwood, said winning the competition was one of her daughter’s goals this year, and she was proud of her accomplishment. The prizes are welcome, but Atwood appreciated how her daughter learned about King’s struggle and her own value through the process.

“This opportunity gave my daughter the understanding of that, learning her history, and knowing that she matters,” Atwood said. “Being a young African American woman, she matters, her voice matters, her decisions matter.”