MACON, Ga. — In commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and as a prelude to Black History Month, Macon-Bibb County Recreation held its 6th oratorical competition for high school students.
Michael Horton and Henry Covington are two of the high school students who competed.
"I think what's most important is what he said about equality for all, and not just one group being on top of another and that everyone is the same, everyone's equal. No one is better than anybody else, and it's just we're all in this together," said Horton.
The prompt for the competition was taken from a portion of King's speech reading, "A riot is the language of the unheard."
"All the stuff that we're able to do -- be in school with different races or go out to eat with different people in different communities -- goes back to all the peaceful protests that happened then and with him as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement," said Covington.
Both students chose different protests in history that made a lasting impact on our society.
"It said 'What's the most significant protest in your country?' and I wrote about the Black Lives Matter protest and about all the years and the built up discrimination and mistreatment, and about what all that stuff really meant," said Horton.
Covington chose the protests in Selma, Alabama, that led to the Voting Rights Act.
"Beat up by the state troopers and how it was televised and how because it was televised, it allowed everybody across the country to realize what was going on in these areas was something that needs to be stopped," said Covington.
Macon-Bibb Parks and Recreation director Robert Walker says he wants to continue to make high school students aware of the Civil Rights Movement.
"We always talk about, in our office, about him using nonviolence to portray his message. That's something that we want to instill in our youth today," said Walker.
"It is very important to just remember that as we go on from today and tomorrow to just celebrate him and thank him for letting us come a long way," said Covington.
The first place winner, Caitlin Nelson, won $750. Covington placed 2nd and received $500, and Horton received $250 for third place.
Only three students participated in Saturday's event, so Macon-Bibb plans on having all three share their speeches at the next scheduled commission meeting.
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