Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born 95 years ago Monday. Does a generation that was born 20 years after MLK Day became a national holiday appreciate the changes the Nobel Prize winner helped bring to the United States?
That was the question posed to students in the culinary arts program at Crossland High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
“My grandparents marched with him through the Civil Rights Movement,” said senior Jennifer Davis. “If I was in their shoes, I would be so happy. Dr. King achieved his goal, his dream came true.”
Jonah Dillard, who is graduating this spring, spoke to King’s significance.
“We wouldn’t be where we are now,” Dillard said. “We wouldn’t have a chance to have this interview. I feel like I’d be talking to a different reporter. I’d be at a different school.”
Ziona Robertson believes that King’s message motivates members of her generation to help bring change.
“Still to this day, it gives people hope that they can start their own movements,” she said.
Nearly every student brought up Crossland High School’s diversity and credits the work of King and the Civil Rights Movement.
“We go to school with people that don’t look the same as us,” Dillard said. “We go to school with people of different colors, different races.”
Eleventh grader Jamadri Mathis spoke on the significance of King’s activism.
“My father is half-white and my mother is Black,” Mathis said. “I’m biracial. Doing what he did opened doors for me to be here today.”
Senior Alahana White looked around the room and pointed out what she believes the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. means to her generation: “Here we are now, in this world, where we are all equal.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
