MILWAUKEE — Cornel Penager Davidson, a sixth grader with Milwaukee Public Schools, is one of hundreds of students who submitted work to the Marcus Performing Arts Center for a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.
“We’re honoring his legacy through speech, art, and writing, and that way we can always remember him,” Penager Davidson said.
Neveah Biddle, a Rufus King High School junior, also wrote an essay for the event.
“Today, his work is perpetuated through those who take a stand for innocent Black lives lost, racism in places from elementary schools to the government, and most importantly, those directly disenfranchised by injustice,” Biddle wrote in her essay.
It’s the first time either of them wrote an essay for the Marcus Center’s celebration of Dr. King’s life, which has happened in Milwaukee for 37 straight years.
The Milwaukee performing arts center has been celebrating King’s birthday annually since 1984. The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration programming highlights the youth in the community who every year interpret King’s words through art, speech, and writing contests.
“Milwaukee and Atlanta are the only two cities that have been hosting it for this length of time,” said Anthony Smith of the Marcus Performing Arts Center.
With the coronavirus still ravaging the community, the event couldn’t be held Sunday in person.
Organizers say there was never a doubt that the 37th annual event would still happen, even if it was done so virtually.
“There are so many youth who depend on being able to participate in this event, I just couldn’t see it going and having a lapse in it,” Smith said.
The theme, “Keep Moving Forward" was part of one of Dr. King’s speeches. It was chosen as this year's theme last March, before the coronavirus became a pandemic. For many, the message is timely, and it’s one Penager Davidson thinks everyone can learn from.
“Recently we’ve been faced with a lot of obstacles,” Penager Davidson said. “And, there’s only one way to get through them, and that’s moving forward.”
