High School Orators Live the Legacy of Dr. King Feb. 19
For release: Feb. 7, 2003
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey

High School students will compete in an oratorical contest to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Wednesday, Feb. 19, at The University of Memphis. Speeches will begin at 6 p.m. in the Fogelman Executive Center, Room 123. The event is free and open to the public.

This year's theme is "Living the Legacy: How I Hope to Contribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dreams of Peace and Social Justice." Students from Booker T. Washington, Central, Hamilton, Melrose and Northside High Schools will participate. The winner will receive $300 and will deliver the speech at the Africa in April Cultural Awareness Festival opening celebration. Runners-up receive $100. The five participating schools each will receive an honorarium of $250.

The keynote speaker will be Professor Samuel Pieh, great-great grandson of the leader of the slave revolt aboard the Spanish ship Amistad in 1839. The event was dramatized in the 1997 Steven Spielberg film of the same name.

The contest is sponsored by The U of M Department of Communication. For more information, call 901-678-2565.

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