- Skyline High School
- 41st Annual MLK Oratorical
42nd Annual OUSD Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Festival
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2021 Theme:
Where Do We Go From Here?: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
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About Us
Let's take a moment to lift up important history. Forty-one years ago the Founder of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Oratorical Fest, Donald Oliver had a vision. He wanted to showcase student’s oratorical skills and he wanted to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He felt that the testing/reading score data did not truly lift up students’ comprehension and fluency skills and abilities but he knew that delivering an oration was an academic exercise that required students to read and comprehend complex text in order to analyze, synthesize, interpret, critique, and present or perform that text (creating a new form through performance) in a competition in public speaking.
This brings us to the 42nd Annual OUSD Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Festival in which schools at all grade levels across Oakland have an opportunity to bring Donald Olivers vision to their students. Below you find information about grade level divisions and the oratorical festival catagories.
Grade Level Divisions:
- Pre-Kindergarten-2nd grade
- 3rd-5th grade
- 6th-8th grade
- 9th-12th grade
Categories:
- Individual Performer – 1 Performer on Stage
- Monologue - original or published in a script (3 min)
- Poetry - published poetry (3 min)
- Poetry - original poetry (poet performing poem they wrote, 3 min)
- Speech - famous & not so famous – (3 min)
- Two or More Performers on Stage Groups/Scenes
- Poetry – published (up to 5 min)
- Poetry - original (written by the performing poets, (up to 5 min)
- Speech - famous & not so famous (up to 5 min)
- Scene - published & devised (up to 5 min)
Please see Divisions and Categories Information Details for number of entries allowed per school.
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3/5/21: Check back for District-Wide Updates!
VOTE for NAACP Image Award - Outstanding Children's Program
We Are The Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical
Tune-in to the 52nd NAACP Image Awards LIVE! Saturday, March 27 8/7c on BET
Post on your social Media and ask 50 Friends/Colleagues to vote
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2020 Emmy Award Winner: Outstanding Children's Program(Click Link to View HBO Special for Free! To learn more about this award-winning special, click here)
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Important DeadlinesMLK Oratorical Fest District-Wide Competition Registration Deadline - New Extension: Feb. 19 @ 6 pmDEADLINES Extended!
Elementary Schools (A-Z)
Virtual Competitions – by 2/19 @ 6PM
Secondary Schools (6th – 12th)
Virtual Competitions – by 2/19 @ 6PM
District-Wide Competition:
Virtual Asynchronous: February
District-Wide Competition
Registration Deadlines:
Elementary Schools: 2/19 (Registration Link)
Secondary Schools: 2/19 (Registration Link)
Registration:
1) All FlipGrid Videos for individuals
and Zoom / CleanFeed.net group videos
uploaded into school’s
MLK Google Folder created by the school
in categories and by grade levels:
- Speeches - PK-2, 3-5, 6-8 or 9-12
- Pub. Poetry
- Orig. Poetry
- Monologues
- Scenes
*School WINNERS coming to District-Wide Competition Folder
Link shared by school on District-Wide Registration Form
Elementary Schools
A-Z: by 2/19
Secondary Schools
6th-12th: by 2/19
2) Registration Google
Form completed for each
participant: by 2/19 (elementary) or 2/19 (secondary)
Showcase: March
YouTube Channel
Virtual Streaming
Important Links & Document Downloads
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Contact Information
Producer, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Fest
Cell | 510-601-0178 cell
Skyline | 510-482-7109, Ext. 204
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Press Coverage
Students compete in MLK Jr. Oratorical Festival for 38th year - Oakland North (audio and print)