In a reading of his own essay he presented to the Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows on Monday during its Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest, Johnson said King “took a bullet to make things right.”
“Even one person can make a difference,” Thomas said after the reading of his winning essay.
Thomas won in the 6- to 9-year-old division and gave his speech proudly among his peers in the Boys and Girls Club facility on East Ninth Street.
The essay contest was part of the club’s celebratory activities honoring King’s contributions in fighting for racial equality in the 1950s and ‘60s. Along with a peace march and community drive, the children listened to a presentation of their peers’ speeches as well as King’s own “I Have a Dream” speech.
Reno City Manager Charles McNeely addressed the youth, encouraging them to become involved in their civic duties as voters and thinkers.
“Please don’t stand on the sideline,” McNeely said. “You need to be fully engaged... You need to make a difference. If you don’t, ask yourself, ‘Who will?’ ...Please, let’s not end it here. You are our future. Let’s not forget about Dr. King’s legacy or we will disappoint Dr. King.”
After leading a massive march to Washington D.C. on Aug. 28, 1963, King gave his famous oration in which he shared his vision for a desegregated nation. While much of his focus was on the fight for equality in Birmingham, Ala., where he led peaceful protests and was jailed, he addressed racial discrimination that was plaguing the nation. King hoped that every American of every race would enjoy a life free from persecution and have equal rights to education and opportunity.
His involvement in the civil rights movement is still remembered and taught to young people in schools and groups. Thus, members of the Boys and Girls Club were encouraged to write on what King meant to them and to think about their own dreams.
Zhane Williams, winner of the 10- to 12-year-old division, said King has taught her “not to fight with fists or hands but to fight with your feelings and words.”
She also read how she hopes people will listen to King’s message and end war and fighting.
Williams said she enjoys hanging around the kids in the club and likes to be a role model through teaching them.
Maria Flores, 14, wrote in her essay, “I have a dream...that now seems impossible, but with the great example of Martin Luther King’s Dream, I know my dream will make a difference...”
She said King serves as a reminder that “it takes only one person with a dream to make the world change.”
In the 16- to 18-year-old division, winner Bianca Johnson refeclted on her hope that her life would “be mirrored by those who shed blood and tears on my behalf.”
Afterward, the kids participated in a peaceful march that was postponed earlier in the day due to the snow. For the “Peace March,” they wore black and white t-shirts that said “We have a dream.”
Justin Aguilar, director of operations of the club, said the contest was judged by Casey McMullen, Krystal Jackson and Katie Ford of the education department. They critiqued the writings based on content and “what they put into it,” Aguilar said, including discussion of their goals and dreams for themselves.
Boys and Girls Club members participated in projects last week and learned about King and what he stood for, Aguilar said.
King was assassinated while standing on a balcony in Memphis, Tenn. in 1968. His birthday is Jan. 15, but in 1986, a federal holiday was established to honor him every third Monday in January.
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