Montgomery County is hosting its annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday tribute and celebration from 4–5:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 16 at The Music Center at Strathmore. This free event, “We Are Martin,” will feature special guests, performing artists and a 200-student chorus from Spark M. Matsunaga Elementary School. Tickets will be available beginning Monday, Jan. 2.
The Montgomery County Volunteer Center is also hosting its annual MLK Day of Service from noon–3 p.m. on Jan. 16, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road in North Bethesda. Students can earn up to three Student Service Learning (SSL) hours for attending and participating. Service will continue throughout the week with virtual, home-based and other on-site projects hosted by a variety of organizations.
High school students also have an opportunity to participate in a Black history essay contest sponsored by WJZ-TV, CBS Baltimore. Students are asked to choose one of the three quotes below and write an essay (500 words or less) describing what it means to them. The quotes are:
- “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.”—George Washington Carver
- “Don’t sit down and wait for opportunities to come … Get up and make them!”—Madam C. J. Walker
- “Impossibilities are merely things of which we have not learned, or which we do not wish to happen.”—Charles W. Chesnutt
Twenty semifinalists will be invited to perform their original work in front of judges, friends and family at a venue and on a date to be determined by the station. Entries are due by email on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
The prizes are:
- First place: $700 from WJZ, $2,000 from Walmart.
- Second place: $400 from WJZ, $1,000 from Walmart.
- Third place: $200 from WJZ, $500 from Walmart.
