The Crocker Highlands Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Festival will return LIVE! on Wednesday, January 31, 2024. The competition will take place in the MPR during the following times: K-1 9:15-9:50am 2-3 9:50-10:45am 4-5 10:55-11:55am Speeches, poems, spoken word pieces, monologues, and/or scenes should be centered around the 2024 theme which is: “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the wo/man who wields it.” [Ennobles: verb (tr) to make noble, honorable, or excellent; dignify; exalt] —– The Challenge is to Practice NonViolence: 64 Ways/Days to Practice NonViolence. Theme Context: Excerpt from… Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1964 The Quest for Peace and Justice What is the OUSD MLK Oratorical Festival? The festival celebrates the eloquence and the leadership for justice that defined the life of Dr. King. It is held throughout the Oakland Unified School District and is one of the highlights on the Crocker Highlands calendar as individual students, groups of students, and classes take the stage and recite poems and speeches fearlessly and with emotional power.
