Khalia Lockett, a fifth grader at Arnold Drive Elementary, loves to write, get A’s, dance, draw and help her twin brother, sometimes.
She displayed her writing ability recently in an essay contest sponsored by Hormel and Skippy Foods.
Khalia took first place and was rewarded last week with a $50 Visa gift card and a certificate for her essay about Martin Luther King Jr. “I’ve still got the money,” she said Tuesday, beaming, and adding that she didn’t know when or if she would spend it.
The Hormel/Skippy Foods contest asked students from various elementary schools to write essays describing what Martin Luther King meant to them.
The fifth grader admitted that she knew of Martin Luther King Jr., but didn’t really know him until she stated researching for her essay. She decided to focus on his quotes. “His words are so important, so powerful. They were his weapon,” she explained.
And even though she has not personally felt any prejudice or racism, she does believe it still exists. “There’s a lot of hate out there right now and Dr. King would be saddened,” Khalia said.
She wrote her essay three different times to get it where she wanted it. “It was just hard to explain the feeling in my heart … to put it in my own words.” After her third draft she knew it was good. “But I didn’t think it would win. We have a lot of good writers just in our class. So when my name was called I was really excited, she said.
Khalia, who wants to be a fashion designer, would love to go back in time to thank Dr. King for making her life easier. “But I would whisper in his ear that his job isn’t done yet.”
Here is Khalia’s winning essay, titled “The Hero of Peace and Love”:
“Darkness cannot drive out Darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
Those are the very words that Martin Luther King Jr. himself said. Martin Luther King Jr. means a lot to me because I’m a Black African American living in a place where hate is still an unfortunate part of life. He is very special because he helped not only Blacks but also whites and many more.
If he hadn’t stood up for his rights, then all people would still have greater wounds from the terrible things that happened in our history.
“The time is always right to do what is right.”
That is a very strong quote by the man himself. I believe that him doing what was right taught others not to do wrong. If he didn’t do what was right, then all the wrong would take over. It’s important to help others who are weak to the word “love” and strong to the word “hate.”
Dr. King is important in such a way that his efforts, methods, and influence remain an important part of history today. His goal was for the world to be forever at peace and unharmed. The world deserves to be a great and peaceful place, not a world of hate and tragedy. He’s my hero because he helped everyone to understand the true meaning of peace and love. I think he’s a very smart man.
He’s a very great believer and he is a very great leader. He never stopped at what he was doing and he kept going and wouldn’t stop. He fought with words and not fists. His words will always be remembered through the years. I felt bad about all the things that had happened when Dr. King was still in this very world.
In conclusion, that’s what Martin Luther King Jr. means to me. He was a very great man. If he was still here I would thank him. I still thank him today even though he’s not here he is still here in memory.
