Summary

Three local 8th grade students will be presented awards for their winning submissions to the King County Civil Right Commission’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Writing Contest.

Story

Three local 8^th grade students will be presented awards for their winning submissions to the King County Civil Right Commission's annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Writing Contest. During a public ceremony this Thursday, the students will be honored as the winners who submitted the top student essays on Dr. King's work.

Contest winners include:

• First prize winner of $100 - Kayla Dawson from Cedar Heights Middle School;
• Second prize winner of $75 - Elly French from Lake Washington Girls Middle School; and
• Third prize winner of $50 - Gabrielle Russell from St. Therese School.

"The Commission is extremely proud to honor these students for their awareness of Dr. King and the civil rights movement," stated George Pieper, Commission Chair. "Their essays demonstrate a growing awareness of the work that we all need to do in our schools, workplaces, and communities to make Dr. King's vision of justice and equality for all a reality."

Sponsored by the King County Civil Rights Commission, this year's contest was themed "We are the ones we have been waiting for" and was open to all 8th graders in public and private schools in King County. The contest encourages students to think critically about Dr. King's legacy of peace and justice. All essays were judged on the author's knowledge of Dr. King and his work in the civil rights movement, originality of ideas, insight, clarity of expression, organization, and grammar.

Essay contest winners will be presented at King County's 24^th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration ceremony on Thursday, January 13, from noon to 1 p.m. at the 5^th Avenue Theatre in downtown Seattle. This free event is wheelchair accessible, ASL interpreted and is open to the public.

For more information about the King County Civil Rights Commission or the essay contest, visit www.kingcounty.gov/exec/CRC.aspx or call Commission Administrator, Paula Harris-White at 206-296-8610.

Copies of the three winning essays are available at https://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/CRC/MLKEssayWinners.aspx.