• student singing student, staff, and community award winners Students wowed the crowd at the January 24, 2019, ONE DREAM MLK Celebration. From LHS senior Lee Ann Mooney Watts, who served as emcee; to charismatic student presenter Jean-Luc Esperance, LMCMS; to Ivori Jones (pictured here), a SWMS seventh-grader who elicited a standing ovation by belting out an emotional solo during a student group performance from the school musical Hairspray Jr. The gallery highlighted student work as well as community displays. The formal ceremony mixed cultural tributes to modern heroes for social justice with spoken word poetry and drum circle performances, as well as the annual MLK Awards.

    Congratulations to this year's finalists: MLK Heart of Service Award, Student - Doha Maaty, LHS, and Jocelyn Wilson, SWMS; MLK Heart of Service Award, Staff - Ana Marie Wilde, LHS, Demetrius Kemp, FSHS, and Shelley Vann, LHS; MLK Character Award, Elementary - Giovani Rodriguez-Antonio, Hillcrest, Hannah Billen, Hillcrest, and Isabel Luellen, Cordley; MLK Character Award, Middle School - Ava Kohart, SWMS, and Jacob Smith, WMS; MLK Character Award, High School - Aymonie Paul, FSHS, and Mia Robinson, LHS; MLK Dreamer's Award, Student - Anthony Ramos, LHS, and Kaitlynn Sedich, SWMS; MLK Dreamer's Award, Adult - Ednice Metz, FSHS, and Kim Fuller, BMMS; MLK Champion of Equity, Staff - Shakiyya Bland, LHS; MLK Champion of Equity, Community - Dr. Subini Annamma, KU.

    We're proud to honor this year's award recipients (pictured here, if present): Jocelyn Wilson, Demetrius Kemp, Hannah Billen, Ava Kohart, Mia Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Kim Fuller, Shakiyya Bland, and Dr. Subini Annamma.
     
    The Lawrence Public Schools' ONE DREAM Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration is held annually on the Thursday following the MLK Holiday. Gallery exhibits open at 5:30 p.m. The program begins at 6:30 p.m.
     
    All are welcome! 
     
    Plan to join us for the 2020 ONE DREAM event on January 23, 2020.