Marin students mark Black History Month with oratorical flair

The winners of a student oratorical contest in the Sausalito Marin City School District got a chance to speak their minds about what needs to change in their school and community.

The contest theme was “Keeping the Dream Alive,” a reference to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. The 13 winners presented their own speeches to about 135 friends, family members, teachers and district leaders Tuesday at the district’s Black History Month celebration.

Five judges selected the winners from among 56 entries submitted by students at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy.

“Our role is to build a beloved community,” said Jayliyah Rice, 11, a sixth-grader. “It means standing up for what is right, without putting each other down.”

Jayliyah also pointed to the need to focus on nonviolence when issues come up and threaten to turn into bigger arguments.

“We should not retaliate physically,” she said. “Instead, use our words.”

Seventh-grader Gabby Carnero, 13, said, “He had a dream, but when will you and I be able to lie down and close our eyes and see it all come true? Not as an echo of the past, but as a promise for the future — where every voice is heard, every life is cherished and every dream has a chance to soar. Let freedom ring, until the walls of oppression crumble, and the chains of injustice are broken.”

Bradley Psalmond, 11, a fifth-grader, said it was his first time speaking in public.

“I have never done this before, but I liked it,” he said later. “If I have a chance, I would definitely do it again.”

Prince Ajiboye, 11, a sixth-grader, said King’s words resonate in his life at school, especially if he sees other students not being treated fairly.

“It made me think about how Dr. King wanted equality for everyone,” he said in his speech. “He says we must rise up above the confines of our animalistic concerns and look at the broader concern for our unity.”

Laurence Threlfall, 12, a sixth-grader, said leaders are important because they set the tone.

“To build a beloved community in our school, we must choose leaders who preach justice and who choose love,” he said. “At our school, equality is important — and we don’t turn away from our friends.”

Levian Vo, 13, an eighth-grader who is the school’s student president, said, “Dr. King said we must commit to nonviolence if we want to build a beloved community, rather than turning against one another.”

The contest judges were former district art teacher Ellen Franz, former trustee Shirley Thornton, Marin City civic leaders Royce McLemore and Marilyn Mackel and Elizabeth Henry, the district’s director of student instruction.

“It’s nice to see something so positive,” Thornton said after the two-hour event.

Bishop Johnathan Logan Sr., pastor of Cornerstone Community Church of God in Christ, offered prayers and an invocation.

“I just believe that something special will happen for all of us tonight, in watching our young people,” he said.

During the celebration, 15 students received tickets for free laptop computers to use at home to supplement the district laptops they use in class. The district purchased the laptops with part of the $15,000 raised by Redwood High School student Natty Gove and his Tech4Youth nonprofit.

“Being here tonight, seeing all the hard work we put in on this fundraiser, culminating in this event, it’s really a great feeling,” Gove said. “I really encourage other young people my age to see what they can do to help their communities. It’s really a great feeling to know that you made a difference.”

Another 15 or 20 laptops will be given out next month at a different event using the balance of the money raised, said district spokesperson Nixon Diaz.

LaResha Huffman, the district superintendent, said the contest goal is for students to have “an equal opportunity to focus on community engagement, and to deepen their understanding of what’s happening in the world around them.”

“I want them to know that their voices matter,” she said.