Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Oratorical Fest

2024 Theme

“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 - 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

Learn More

In a real sense nonviolence seeks to redeem the spiritual and moral lag that I spoke of earlier as the chief dilemma of modern man. It seeks to secure moral ends through moral means. Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.

I believe in this method because I think it is the only way to reestablish a broken community. It is the method which seeks to implement the just law by appealing to the conscience of the great decent majority who through blindness, fear, pride, and irrationality have allowed their consciences to sleep.

The nonviolent resisters can summarize their message in the following simple terms: we will take direct action against injustice despite the failure of governmental and other official agencies to act first. We will not obey unjust laws or submit to unjust practices. We will do this peacefully, openly, cheerfully because our aim is to persuade. We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself. We will try to persuade with our words, but if our words fail, we will try to persuade with our acts. We will always be willing to talk and seek fair compromise, but we are ready to suffer when necessary and even risk our lives to become witnesses to truth as we see it.

Resources:

Video, MLK: Nonviolence is the Most Powerful Weapon

Speech: Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom” Martin Luther King, Jr., May 4, 1966 (abridged)

Stanford U, Dr. MLK, Jr., Institute: Nonviolence

Video, Facing History: Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette on Non-Violence

Lesson: Teaching for Change: Putting The Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching / Download Lessons K-12

Lessons, National Park Service: Picturing Nonviolence Or Nonexistence 3-5

Rethinking Schools: Rethinking The Cycle of Violence 

Video, PBS Documentary: The Interrupter

Lessons, Rethinking Schools: Teaching SNCC: The Organization at the Heart of the Civil Rights Revolution 

Lessons, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and the Power of Nonviolence Lesson Plans 6-12

Video, Martin Luther King Speaks! "Nonviolence and Social Change" 

UN International Day of NonViolence 

2023 Theme

Please choose from one of the following three themes. Resource links are provided below each theme for further information.

Purpose in Life & How I Want to Be Remembered

 Dr. MLK, Jr.

1. “I’d like for someone to say, Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others…I’d like for someone to say that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to love somebody…I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.” (King, “The Drum Major,” 185–186).
2. "If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.”"(King, "The Drum Major,” 185–186)

How I Would Like to Be Remembered

Prompt: In Dr. King’s Drum Major Instinct 1968 sermon he reflects on his sense of purpose and how he wanted to be remembered after he died.How would you like to be remembered right now, 5 or 10 years from now? How would you like to be remembered for making a difference in other people’s lives?

https://www.eduguide.org/content/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/15-4_eduguide-remembering-dr-king-activity.pdf

The Drum Major Instinct – (5 min excerpt)

https://vimeo.com/77261262

The Drum Major Instinct , 2/4/1968, Ebenezer Baptist Church recording - https://youtu.be/Mefbog-b4-4

Dr MLK, Jr Research & Education Institute – Drum Major Instinct

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/drum-major-instinct

About the MLK Oratorical

More than four decades ago, the Founder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Oratorical Fest, Donald Oliver had a vision. He wanted to showcase students' oratorical skills and he wanted to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  He felt that the testing/reading score data did not truly lift 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 2023 and the 44th Annual OUSD Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Festival in which schools at all grade levels across Oakland have an opportunity to bring Donald Oliver's vision to their students. Below you find information about grade level divisions and the oratorical festival categories. 

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.