I HAVE A DREAM.
THAT ONE DAY THIS NATION WILL
RISE UP AND LIVE OUT THE TRUE
MEANING OF ITS DREAM.
WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE
EVIDENT.
PART SERMON, PART POETRY.
MARTIN LUTHER KING
JR.'S "I HAVE A DREAM" SPEECH
TO THIS DAY REMAINS A
MESSAGE OF STRUGGLE AND HELP.
HIS WORDS MOVED THE
NATION AND INSPIRED FUTURE
GENERATIONS LIKE OUR
FIRST GUEST TODAY.
WE ARE WELCOMING WINNERS OF THE
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
WRITING COMPETITION
SPONSORED BY CARNEGIE MELLON
UNIVERSITY.
PROFESSOR JIM DANIELS HAS
BEEN HERE ON PTL.
HE
IS HERE WITH THREE OF THE
WINNERS TO SHARE THEIR
WORK AND TELL US WHERE WE CAN
HEAR MORE ABOUT THE
SPECIAL EVENT COMING UP NEXT
WEEK.
WE WELCOME PROFESSOR
DANIELS ALONG WITH
STUDENTS KDKA AND SIERRA AND
ELIAH ROBERTS AND ALSO
SERENA GALEON.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
WE
APPRECIATE IT.
IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU
AGAIN.
WALK US THROUGH
THE EVENT COMING UP MONDAY.
THIS IS THE 21st YEAR.
WE STARTED IT SHORTLY
AFTER MLK DAY BECAME A NATIONAL
HOLIDAY, AS A WAY OF
BRINGING A CONCEPT FOR LOCAL
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
AND COLLEGE STUDENTS TOGETHER.
WE HAVE TWO
CATEGORIES.
POETRY AND PROSE.
WE ASK THEM TO WRITE
ABOUT ISSUES OF THIS IN A SAFE
SPACE AND TELLING
STORIES ABOUT ISSUES THAT SO
OFTEN DIVIDE US IN
SOCIETY.
PALOMA, YOU ACTUALLY HAD
WRITTEN A SHORT PLAY.
TELL US ABOUT THE IMPETUS FOR
THAT.
WHAT IS IT
ABOUT AND WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU
WANT TO GET OUT?
ONE OF MY CLASSMATES
COMMENTED THAT MY WRITING
SOUNDS DUMB BECAUSE ENGLISH IS
MY SECOND LANGUAGE.
WHEN I WRITE SOMETHING,
CRITICISM USUALLY FOCUSES ON
HOW I'M SAYING THINGS RATHER
THAN WHAT IS BEING SAID
SAID.
AFTER HAVING THIS INTERACTION,
I CANNOT THINK
OF ANYTHING ELSE TO WRITE ABOUT
SO I HAD WRITTEN A
POEM ABOUT THIS.
ESPECIALLY CRITICIZING THE
PHRASE,
BUT YOUR ENGLISH IS SO GOOD.
THE POEM
GOES "SOMETIMES WHEN I HEAR
THIS STATEMENT, I SWEAR
THAT WHAT IS WORSE THAN HEARING
IT IS THAT SOMETIMES
I ACTUALLY LISTEN AND I BELIEVE
MY ACCENT TO BE A
NOISE THAT CANCELS MY VOIC ."
PROFESSOR, THIS IS KIND OF
THAT SAFE SPACE YOU
ARE TALKING ABOUT.
HEARING COMMENTS THAT DROVE YOU
TO PUT PEN TO PAPER.
THIS GIVES A SAFE SPACE FOR
STUDENTS TO USE THEIR VOICE.
RIGHT.
AMONG A GROUP OF STUDENTS, FROM
A RANGE
OF VOICES.
AND SO I THINK FOR ANYONE WHO
HAS NEVER
COME TO THE AWARDS BEFORE, THAT
IS ONE OF THE THINGS
YOU GET.
THE DIVERSITY OF VOICES AND THE
STRENGTH
OF THOSE VOICES AND THE PASSION
BEHIND THEM.
RED
ABOUT THINGS THEY CARE ABOUT
THINGS THAT BOTHERED
THEM.
ELIAH, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR
WRITING.
MY IS DARK SKINNED BLACK
GIRL.
AND I FEEL THEY
ARE NOT REPRESENTED IN A
POSITIVE LIGHT.
THEY ARE
NOT PRAISED OR CELEBRATED.
THEY ARE OFTEN LOOKED
DOWN UPON.
I WANTED TO REASSURE BLACK
GIRLS LIKE ME
THAT THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL.
THEY ARE SMART.
THEY ARE
TALENTED AND THEY CAN DO
ANYTHING.
AND YOU CAN DO ANYTHING.
YOU ARE 17 AND YOU
HAVE DONE THIS.
I READ YOUR POEM.
IT IS BEAUTIFUL.
I LOVE HOW
YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AND YOU
REALLY DO EMPOWER
YOUNG GIRLS.
THANK YOU.
WOULD YOU SHARE A LITTLE
BIT OF IT FOR US?
YES.
THE GOLDEN HUES PAINTED ON
MY THIGHS AND THE
CURLY CUES PUT UPON MY HEAD FOR
PURPOSE.
HAVE MORE
BODY THAN THE OCEAN'S STRONGEST
WAVES AND HOTTER
THAN THE WORLD'S VOLCANIC LAVA.
UNDERGROUND, I AM
ONE WITH NATURE.
WITH RUINS ALL AROUND MY
FIGURE.
WE HAVE DIAMONDS EMBEDDED IN
OUR MINDS, AND GOLD
MINES IMPLANTED IN OUR EYES.
YOU COULD EVEN SAY WE
ARE THE GOLDEN CHILDREN BECAUSE
AS BLACK GIRLS, ONE
OF NATURE'S GREATEST CREATIONS.
FANTASTIC.
IT IS WORTH HEARING THE
WHOLE THING.
AND SERENA, TALK ABOUT HOW
MARTIN LUTHER KING
JR. HAS INSPIRED YOU.
I KIND OF LOOKED AT IT AS
BEING BIRACIAL.
I
WAS FORTUNATE WHERE I DID NOT
FACE A LOT OF
DISCRIMINATION.
RECENTLY, I WAS TREATED VERY
POORLY.
MY FAMILY TONIGHT.
I DECIDED TO WRITE ABOUT
THAT.
IT WAS MINOR BUT IT AFFECTED
OCELOT AND IT
RUINED ONE OF OUR FAVORITE
PLACES TO GO AND MADE OUR
HOMETOWN FEEL A LITTLE LESS
SAFE.
SO I THOUGHT I
SHOULD WRITE ABOUT THAT AND
SHARED WITH OTHERS.
TO
RELATE TO OTHERS AND LET THEM
KNOW THEY SHOULDN'T
FEEL ASHAMED IF IT REALLY HURT
YOU IN SOME WAY.
ALSO TO SHOW HOW MUCH OF AN
IMPACT -- NOT EVEN
WORDS, BUT THE ACTIONS OF
OTHERS CAN REALLY AFFECT
PEOPLE.
WE WILL HEAR PART OF YOUR
WRITING A LITTLE
LATER ON.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU ALL FOR
BEING HERE.
IT IS EXCITING TO HEAR WHAT IS
ON YOUR
MINDS AND THAT IS FANTASTIC.
WE WILL HAVE A LITTLE
MORE OF THAT LATER ON.
STAY WITH US.
WE WILL TAKE
A QUICK BREAK AND BE BACK WITH
MORE OF THIS YEAR'S
AWARDS LATER IN THE HOUR.
IN THE MEANTIME, MARK
YOUR CALENDARS FOR MONDAY
