Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest
Soreal Gray
Grade 8
St. Louis Catholic Academy
Ist Place
The Ferguson Incident
The day of August 9, 2014 will always be memorable to me for a number of reasons. It
was exciting for me, because it was my fourteenth birthday. It was also tragic for many people.
That afternoon an eighteen year old African American male named Michael Brown was killed by
Ferguson Policeman Darren Wilson. There’s been a lot of speculation about what took place at
that moment. Some say Michael attacked the officer; others say he surrendered with his hands
up. I feel like this is another Trayvon Martin incident, but worse considering an officer was
involved. It’s caused much controversy throughout the world.
I think the shooting of Michael Brown was extremely wrong and unnecessary. It just
doesn’t make sense. Darren Wilson accused Michael of attacking him yet they are witnesses
claiming Michael raised his hands saying, “Don’t shoot.” The stories are totally different. Not to
be bias, but logically why would any unarmed teen attack an officer with a gun on a Sunday
afternoon? From Darren’s perspective, if he did in fact have to shoot once would’ve sufficed. It
was unnecessary for him to be shot six times and left in the street four hours afterward.
Realistically, if you shot someone in the head once they would instantly die or fall to the ground.
It doesn’t make sense that Darren said he kept shooting, because Michael continued to advance.
One shot would’ve startled him enough to deter him of any wrong intention he could’ve had.
The Ferguson shooting has had a strong, lasting effect on all communities. People near
and far have supported the Ferguson community.
I think it’s had a positive as well as a negative impact on communities. Two positive outcomes
are the uniting of African Americans and the chance for people to see, how corrupt authority can
be. The negative side is the looting, violent protests, and the emotional strain it’s had on people,
especially the parents of Michael Brown. It is very commendable how his parents have handled
this stressful situation. Instead of having a vengeful spirit they requested peace.
I think Dr. King would’ve also responded peacefully, if he was alive, but he would also
be very upset. The civil rights movement began in 1955. It’s 2015 and our race is still faced with
racism. He would feel like his vision for African Americans as well as all minorities isn’t being
fulfilled. Although life is better for us now there’s still a lot of discrimination towards people of
color and all minorities.
I wasn’t surprised when Darren Wilson wasn’t indicted, solely because he’s a white
police officer. Since he was released he has the option to rejoin the police force. He doesn’t
deserve that honor. It seems like it’s always been white vs. black. If African Americans knew
how much worth they possessed they would be more successful. I think since people don’t think
highly of us we don’t expect much for ourselves. We’re placed into false and negative
stereotypes. Any one of us can cause a ripple in the water and be an exception. No matter what
people think of us we should have our own self-worth to overcome obstacles. Others may look at
us negatively but we must view ourselves in a positive light. When there’s a will there’s a way.
We are the handicap we must face. We must decide where we want to go. We must furnish the
will to win. Everyone is born with the same equipment. Although we may not have the same
opportunities we have equal ability to accomplish incredible things and change the world for the
better. Despite this tragic event we as a race and a nation must work to initiate change.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest
Nadia Schweiger
Grade 8
St. Stephen Protomartyr
2nd Place
On February 28, 1954, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a sermon at a church in Detroit that
explained how Americans need to rediscover their moral values. With pain in his eyes and
concern in his voice, he proclaimed: “I’m here today to you this morning that some things are
right and some things are wrong. It’s wrong to hate. It always has been wrong and it always
will be wrong.” (mlk website)
As I read this, I thought about the riots going on in Ferguson. At first I thought about how crazy
some of the protesters were acting and how I felt bad for the officers that had to deal with the
riots. It was hard for me to understand why they thought it was okay to lash out in such a way.
I also did not think it was right that they were acting so hateful towards the police officer,
especially the white police officers for doing their job. However, after reading what Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. had to say, I gained a new perspective. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man of
hope, a man of God, and a man willing to sacrifice everything for the freedom of all people.
Though he was African American, he wanted freedom for people of every race, ethnicity,
religion and so forth.
When he said, “I have a dream” he was saying that he hoped one day all African Americans and
all white people would stop judging each other by their physical traits. The color of one’s
pigment does not define one’s moral character. It is human nature to be suspicious of those
that are not like us. Perhaps it is a method of self-defense. However, people are hurting
themselves by always being on the defense from the things or people that are not like them.
We know we are all human, all the same on the inside. We must put away our fears and
ignorance about what is on the outside.
I think Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have responded to the shooting and riots by saying that
we were not born with hate. We were not born with negative views of those different than us.
It is society and even our upbringing that provokes this. We can conform to society or we can
look within our hearts to rediscover the definitions of right and wrong that are a part of our
human nature. He would have encouraged the protesters to stay peaceful and to love your
enemies. Like Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., it is our duty not as whites, blacks or Asians, but as
Americans, to be a force of change for the freedom of all people.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest
Faithlyn Fritschle
Grade 8
St. Stephen Protomartyr
3rd Place
Ferguson, Missouri has been the global focus these past few months. At restaurants, coffee
shops and dinner tables the fatal shooting of 18 year old Michael Brown has been the topic of
conversations everywhere.
I, as a 14 year old white child, do not know the struggles that black people go through on a daily
basis. I do not know what it is like to be a race that gets ridiculed almost every day. I do not
know what it is like to be looked down upon because of the color of my skin. I do not know
what it is like to have police target me. I do know this. Change will not be accomplished by
looting, burning building, and abusing police officers. Love conquers hatred; hatred does not
conquer love. Hatred causes chaos and chaos causes sadness.
Ever since August ninth, the day when the uproar began, people have been frightened,
confused and frustrated. Out of fear of what will happen next, businesses, schools and people
in general have been taking precautions. People are confused because they do not know what
to believe. The media has conflicting reports. They have exaggerated the news to make people
feel strong emotions on both sides. The majority of people are frustrated and so not want to
face the issues in our community; they just want the whole situation to go away. But that is
generally the white perspective. I believe these protesters have a clear and solid message. They
want change. Change in the way they are treated by the police. Change in the way the law
operates. Change in the way some people view them. This is a valid message, but a small core
of people is causing the trouble and these people’s protests are by no means peaceful. To
make a positive impact, there must be protest without violence.
Being that he was for peaceful, nonviolent protests, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be
objecting to protesters’ violence. He and his thousands of followers stood for orderly
demonstrations and King would be highly disappointed in any hostile actions. Acts of violence
have done nothing but help protesters lose their own credibility and cause the public to not
take their position seriously.
However, King would be very much in favor of peaceful demonstrations. He knows about the
power of people coming together for a just cause. He knows the importance of discrimination
and injustice that was taking place. He never lost hope of his dream.
He dreamed that America could actually be the symbol of freedom that we claim to be, that we
could all sit at a table, no matter the color of skin, in solidarity. And he knew this dream could
be fulfilled with love.
I think that’s what the Ferguson protesters need to remember as well as the people all over the
community and world. Love.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest
Kasi Olden
Grade 8
De La Salle Middle School
4th Place
I rode down W. Florissant on a Saturday between five and seven o’clock in the afternoon. I was
headed home and I saw all types of people protesting together, as one, peacefully. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. was a preacher. He too believed in Christian values to forgive and to pray that
God will lead us on a path of goodness and forgiveness. In Ferguson, no one was looking at the
big picture of forgiveness, thus the violence. Many people looted and blamed each other. I
thought to myself, how can a situation between two races come together as one and not
collide. How can justice be served?
Ferguson and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s were alike and yet different. Both were
about forgiveness, which King emphasized. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. led the March on Washington
and he also encouraged the children’s march in Birmingham. Alabama. King influenced adults
and children. Both adults and children protested in Ferguson for Michael Brown and for justice.
This made me more inspired to want to make a difference in my community because, as African
American, it affected me.
The Civil Rights Movement began because blacks we fed up with the unequal treatment and
horrible conditions they were handed while living in the South. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
wrote in his letter to the clergymen, “For years now I have heard the word “Wait!”. It rings in
the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant
“Never”. Fifty years later we still “Wait” for fairness and equity, not just among blacks, but
other minorities in the United Sates that face racism. Citizens of Ferguson have felt for a long
time that the Ferguson police were treating them with no respect. This issue could have been
solved many years ago if their mayor took control and fixed the fact that most of the police
officers were white when the majority of Ferguson was black. But no, it took the life of an
innocent African American high school senior, about to go to college, who was shot multiple
times by a Caucasian officer, Darren Wilson. At that moment, not only the community of
Ferguson was changed, but the ordinary lives of citizens and families all over Missouri and the
world were also changed.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s way of life was nonviolence. Following Christian values,
renunciation of violence means that when something goes wrong in life you should make better
of the situation.
Just because African Americans and other minorities were dealt a bad hand, that doesn’t mean
they sat there and wept for days. No, they worked themselves to the bone, protested until
their voices were gone, until they accomplished their goal.
As a Christian, I am always reminded to, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us”. We can’t all look around and blame someone, we have to learn to pray for
those who do wrong and forgive them of their doings. Without that, we as a community,
including myself, will never move on from the devastation that we are in. We have to pray
together, heal together, forgive together and progress together. As a result, not just Ferguson,
but the United States will become closer. We were built on life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness. That is what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Michael Brown would have wanted.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest
Benjamin C. Andrews
Grade 7
St. Margaret of Scotland
5th Place
What exactly happened in Ferguson remains a blurred picture, a nightmare that you can barely
remember, yet you can still feel the haunting sensation of it. All we know is that it resulted in
the shooting of Michael Brown and riots across the city of St. Louis. One side says that Michael
Brown showed aggression towards officer Darren Wilson, thus the shooting was just. The other
side says that the shooting of Michael Brown was an act of racism and they also said that the
idea was supported by the fact that the Ferguson Police Department had more light colored
people than dark. Since the incident, there has been instability throughout St. Louis City and
the counties. Tension grew even more when a similar situation happened in the Shaw
Neighborhood. Many people are still unhappy with the way the situation was handled, but is it
the way a more famous and respected person would have handled it? What would Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. do at a time like this?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a social activist until his assassination, was one of the leaders of the
Civil Right Movement. He promoted social justice for people of both colors and did so without
violence. How would he feel about the current outbursts of aggression over something he
committed his life to protecting? I believe he would not agree with either side’s approach to
the situation. The protesters who went out looting stores reacted too soon and caused a
nationwide panic without giving a chance for police officers to show the evidence. The police,
while they were responding to the actions of protesters, might have been able to contain the
situation without the use of tear gas. The actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are being torn
down by this racial commotion that everyone should be able to look pas. To support my
argument, I have chosen several quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself. These show he
did not promote justice just to have it destroyed half of a century later:
“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or
in the darkness of destructive selfishness”
“Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression
and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”
“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him in unjust and who willingly
accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the
community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.”
Protests do not have to be destructive, in fact, they should not be destructive; they should be
creative. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted us to move past using aggressive retaliation to
express an idea. We live in a country of equality and freedom and we should use that freedom
to lift others up, not threaten others’ safety. That was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest
Laura Smith
Grade 8
St. Stephen Protomartyr
Poem Honoree
I have a dream
Why does there have to be so much discrimination?
Why can’t we be just one united nation?
In the Civil War it was a revolution.
But that was just the beginning of the solution.
Even now there is still segregation.
I have a dream
Bloody Sunday, Sunday School Massacre, Little Rock Nine
You must have felt like you stepped on a landmine.
You were in danger for thirteen years.
I am reminded of your constant fears.
I have a dream
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led protests peacefully.
He opposed the injustices of the nation vehemently.
Year after year he encouraged people to carry on faithfully.
So that ALL people can enjoy life equally.
I have a dream
The people of Ferguson have a dream too.
And we all hope it won’t fall through.
This is the American dream people believe in.
But the “peaceful” protests are starting to wear thin.
I have a dream
Some people say he would be proud.
But this is not the kind of stuff he would’ve allowed.
He encouraged people to stay strong and focused in a crowd.
Not to hurt, loot and use violence to those avoiding a war cloud.
I have a dream
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”
Our lives begin again when we allow the stereotypes to shatter.
This doesn’t end when people get it to go away or hide.
The media doesn’t get to decide.
I have a dream
And you know what Dr. King? I have a dream too.
That we can overcome the fear and differences. That we can have a breakthrough.
I know it seems like a lot.
But if we all take time to understand each other on the inside, it’s not.
I have a dream
People may think that racism ended with you.
But that is certainly untrue.
Because there is still racial profiling.
The accounts against black people are piling.
I have a dream
Maybe one day people will stop judging people by the color of their skin.
And focus more on what they look like within.
I hope one day we will stop using teargas.
And all people will finally be “free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last!”