Community members honor MLK’s legacy, reflect on his mission for equality

Martin Luther King Jr. had an undeniable impact on the civil rights movement, and the third Monday of January stands as a reminder of his legacy. To honor him, the Hopkinsville-Christian County Human Rights Commission hosted a celebration spotlighting his work, and the steps still needed to achieve equality.  

Although the march was canceled due to icy temperatures, folks still crowded Hopkinsville Community College’s auditorium for the celebration.

King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the most well-known speeches to ever be delivered. In the speech, King spotlights his dream of a future where citizens are socially and economically equal, and to start Monday’s celebration, Solomon Bowden from Men 2 Be read an excerpt from it.

Mount Olive Baptist Church Pastor Reverend Joe Leavell was the celebration’s keynote speaker, and he talked about the obstacles Black people face and how to navigate them. The United States has been described as a melting pot of different ethnicities and cultures, but Leavell says Black folks were not initially included in that pot, and were instead seen as kindling to the flame.

Leavell says Black millennials are the first generation to experience a life not encumbered by laws against their participation in society. He says there are members of Generation X who were born into a country where their parents were not able to vote and had unequal access to housing.

To continue progress toward equality, Leavell says people need to build bridges that encourage equal opportunities and tear down the walls dividing us. Some of those obstacles include lower literacy rates, higher incarceration rates and children not being ready for kindergarten.

In Christian County, Leavell says there are multiple bridges allowing equal opportunities and access to resources. He calls the nonprofit Aaron McNeil House, Inc., a bridge for people who are less fortunate and need access to food; he also calls Men 2 Be and Lipstick After Dark bridges for mentoring and supporting local youth.

Following Leavell’s message, Commission Executive Director Raychel Farmer encouraged attendees to honor King’s legacy through their actions.

To conclude the celebration, the winners of the Tom Bell State Farm School Challenge and the commission’s MLK Day Art contest. Bell says around 85 students attended the celebration, but Christian County High School had the most and was awarded a traveling trophy.

The art contest received around 300 submissions, and multiple winners were recognized. In the preschool to second-grade division, Alayna Travis from Indian Hills Elementary School won first-place; in the third-grade to fifth-grade division, Avery Reynolds from Heritage Christian Academy won first-place; in the middle school division, Hadley Mathis from University Heights Academy won first-place and in the high school division, Sophia Wilson from Christian County High School won first-place.

The full list of art contest winners is below.

Preschool to Second-Grade
1^st Place: Alayna Travis, 2^nd Grade, Indian Hills Elementary School
2^nd Place: Tilly Maye Myers, Kindergarten, Sinking Fork Elementary School
3^rd Place: Jade Burney, 1^st Grade, Sinking Fork Elementary School

Third-Grade to Fifth-Grade
1^st Place: Avery Reynolds, 5^th Grade, Heritage Christian Academy
2^nd Place: DaMari Carter, 4^th Grade, Freedom Elementary School
3^rd Place: Mylah Castro, 4^th Grade, Freedom Elementary School
3^rd Place: Rosalie Dodson, 4^th Grade, Sinking Fork Elementary School

Sixth-Grade to Eighth-Grade
1^st Place: Hadley Mathis, 6^th Grade, University Heights Academy
2^nd Place: Kora Stiles, 6^th Grade, University Heights Academy
3^rd Place: Harper Kidd, 8^th Grade, Christian County Middle School

Ninth-Grade to Twelfth-Grade
1^st Place: Sophia Wilson, 12^th Grade, Christian County High School
2^nd Place: Carly Armstrong, 11^th Grade, Christian County High School
3^rd Place: Vincent Ellerbee, 12^th Grade, Hopkinsville High School
3^rd Place: Kalaiah Nance, 10^th Grade, Christian County High School

 Honorable Mentions
AJ Smith, 9^th Grade, Hopkinsville High School
Jonathan Gamboa, 10^th Grade, Christian County High School