A new generation believes the dream

What are young people if not idealistic — sometimes even given to rose-colored glasses — but also quick to hold the adult world to high standards?

2002 Essays

We talked with several students who had won King County's annual MLK essay contest in 2002. Read our story about them and their essays:

• Chris Russell, Dimmitt Middle School (PDF)
  "I want and am trying to reach for the mountaintop but realized that this place is not the same for everyone."
• Megan Parker, Redmond Junior High School (PDF)
  "We need to set an example for future generations."
• Alice Hu, Redmond Junior High School (PDF)
  "I'm not going to pretend I'm a righteous pillar of racial objectivity."
• Tracy Ma, Redmond Junior High School (PDF)
  "The road to the top is rocky, and many people, both weak and strong, have stopped midway."

1998 Essays

We asked juniors studying U.S. history in 1998 to write short essays on "What Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. means to me." We selected these:

• Amphay Thiraphouth, Rainier Beach High School
  "I think he represents everyone's struggle in life."
• Michael West, Henry M. Jackson High School
  "Due to his efforts I have no problems with being who I am."
• Dana Burns, Rainier Beach High School
  "We are letting his dream die more and more each day."
• Jesse Sexton, Henry M. Jackson High School
  "People have forgotten who he was and what he was about."
• Aurora Lehr, Henry M. Jackson High School
  "To me racism is foreign, like a book you read and think it was "just a story," until one day you realize it wasn't."