Good morning. Good morning. Let's try that again. Good morning. Good morning. We have gathered here today to honor the life and legacy of the reverend doctor Martin Luther King Junior, an American hero whose faith shaped his fight and who love fueled his leadership. The Hebrew word hesed, meaning steadfast love, covenant loyalty, and enduring kindness, beautifully captures doctor
King's life and witness. His commitment to justice was rooted in divine love and extended to all people, even those who opposed him. Through nonviolent resistance, doctor King chose grace over hatred and faith over fear reflecting God's persistent covenant keeping love in action. This morning, we pause to reflect on how we live with purpose, serve humanity, and
model what it means to stand firmly for justice while remaining anchored in love. His vision of a beloved community continues to challenge and inspire us today. So as we gather with gratitude and expectation, let's be thankful for his sacrifice and hopeful for what lies ahead. Let us open our hearts and minds to what we are about to experience. Let us now begin the celebration.
Let us now begin the celebration. And now we will have the Oak Park Elementary Combined Choir. Let's show them some love. Yeah. You could do better than that. Yes. Let's show them baby some love. Yeah. Job. Well done. The students from King King. Einstein Key and Lessinger Pepper Pepper Elementary School. Yes. They did a wonderful job. Now I am proud to introduce our mistress and master of ceremonies, miss Kansas King
and miss DeMarco Price. But before we move on, through our program, I would like to acknowledge the Oak Park Board of Education. Board members, would you stand as I call your names? Paige Madison, president. Sandra Clark, vice president. Tiffany Scott, treasurer, Heather Perryman Tank, secretary, Don Corcoran, treasurer, Ayesha Tyler, trustee, and Andrea Rogers, trustee. Let's appreciate the Oak Park Board of Education.
Thank you for your service. I will now turn it over to our mistress and masters of ceremony. I am honored here to be here this morning. In today's climate, I think that it's important that we continue to celebrate doctor Martin Luther King. He was an inspirational leader, and I have learned more about him each year we do our projects. I think leaders of our world should keep the message of quality and peace that Doctor. King preach at the forefront of their minds when they make decisions. Thank you, mister Haley, for introducing all the important people here today.
We will now hear from the chairman of the Michigan eleventh District Democrats, missus Glenda Stanback. Good morning, honored guests, students, parents, and friends. My name is Glenda Stainback. I've been a proud resident of Oak Park for forty one years. I'm a political activist, grassroots organizer, and recent appointee to Oak Park's Juneteenth Commission. I'm also the proud parent of two Oak Park, Knights, a former wrestler and a
former cheerleader. This morning, I wanna talk about showing up, keeping doctor King's dream alive. I found myself asking, if he were alive today, what would Martin do? Reverend doctor Martin Luther King Junior used the power of words and acts of nonviolent resistance, like protests, grassroots organizing, and civil disobedience to achieve seemingly impossible goals. He chose activism as the means by which to achieve goals. He showed up. You may be thinking, I'm not getting involved. I'm not interested in activism.
I'm not interested in politics. When I was a student, books like Richard Wright's Native Son and the Diary of Anne Frank were required reading so we could learn about history, oppression, and different cultures. Today, those books and others that talk about race, racism, gender identity, political viewpoints, and history, especially slavery, are banned. And teachers cannot teach about them or even allow you to talk openly about these topics. Who do you think makes the decisions about your school's policies, the budgets, the buildings,
and your curriculum? Who decides how much of the district's money goes into your school sports programs, your music programs, and what your teachers get paid? The school board makes those decisions. Who chooses the school board? Voters elect our school board. You may be thinking, but I'm just not interested in politics. Do you call the police when you get you or a loved one needs help? The mayor and other city officials set public safety policy, whether local law enforcement cooperates with federal agencies like ICE.
They make decisions about parks, recreation activities, and the beautiful event hub that's being built right across the street. Who chooses your city officials? Voters elect our leaders our city leaders. The legislators in Lansing make laws. They approve state budgets. They affecting the daily life through decisions on education, health care, housing, and decide how our tax dollars are spent. They decide how much money goes to schools, whether students continue to have free meals, who chooses state representatives and state senators.
Voters elect our state legislators. We have an administration in Washington, DC that is hell bent on taking us back to the way things were one hundred years ago. They intend to take Social Security away from hardworking Americans like me, your parents, your grandparents. They have already allowed subsidies to expire, making health care unaffordable for many. They say, make America great again, when they really mean make America white again. People of color and those who support us are being disappeared, locked up, deported, and
killed. ICE is harassing Native Americans in Minneapolis. Native Americans. Let that sink in. Federal military troops are on alert for possible deployment onto American city streets. Concentration camps are being built all around our country. There's talk now of a detention center right in Highland Park, Michigan. How did we get here? Who chose those people in congress and the president now sitting in the White House? The voters elected them. It was because of the activism of doctor King and others like him that we elected our first black president.
If we don't stand up and speak out, he could be our last. Some in our country were not ready to see a black woman elected president. So they voted for the racist, sexual predator convicted of 34 felonies while others stayed home and didn't vote at all. They didn't show up, and so here we are. Educate yourself about who your leaders are. If they're not representing your best interests, speak up, show up, and vote them out. If you're not old enough to vote, make sure your parents and other adults in
your village are informed about what you need and what you want. If we don't elect leaders that will support programs that benefit us, those programs will continue to be taken away and the money that funds these programs will be funneled into agencies like ICE or given to the rich in the form of tax cuts. If you don't like the way the government is being run, speak up. Show up. Run for something. Some of the reasons I hear for not showing up are I'm too old, I'm too cold, I'm too young.
Have you seen the footage of the protesters these days? The youngest activists I know are right here on the stage with me. My littles told me they did not like what they were seeing on my television at the age of three and went on to begin their service and their activism at the age of five. Today, you may be thinking, ICE is after them, not us. To that, the words from pastor Martin Niemoller's poetry writing, first they came, come to mind. First, they came for the communist, and I did not speak out because I was
not a communist. Then they came for the socialist, and I did not speak out because I'm not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews. I didn't speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me. When Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, doctor King showed up. When the Southern Christian Leadership Council protested segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, doctor King showed up.
When citizens marched on Washington for jobs and freedom, doctor King showed up. These are only a few instances. He continued to show up until his life was cut short. Our democracy is now under attack. If he were alive, I have no doubt he would still be showing up. But now it's on us to pick up the mantle, to keep the dream alive, and show up. In the words of doctor King, if you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl.
But whatever you do, you have to keep moving. Speak out. Protest. Vote. Show up. I wanna close by saying, I'm proud to live in a city that celebrates its diversity by honoring the legacy of doctor King. We will also celebrate the nation's newest holiday, Juneteenth. The fifth annual City of Oak Park Juneteenth celebration will be on Friday, June 19. Each year, we invite students of Oak Park School District to participate in the celebration. Stay tuned for announcements about the annual student contest and the scholarships to be awarded
for the top entries. I'll be there, and I'll be looking for you to show up. Thank you, miss Stanback, for those heartfelt words. The next performance will be from the voices of inspiration from OPPA under the direction of mister Monkfield. Hello, everybody. How is everybody doing today? My name is Gabriel Mumfield. I am here on the behalf of miss Demetria Washington of of OPA, Voices of Imporation. And we have our two ladies here, Cali and Ariel, here to sing You Gotta Be for you guys.
Listen as your day unfolds. Tell me what the future holds. Try to keep your head up bold. You gotta be wiser. You gotta be hard. You gotta be tough. You gotta be stronger. You gotta be cool. You gotta be calm.
You gotta sit together. All I you. Others take a different view. My, oh my. You gotta be bad. You gotta be bold. You gotta be wiser. Time has no question that goes on without you, leaving you behind if you can't
stand the pace. The world keeps on spinning, can stop it if you calm.
You guys stay together. All I know, all I know, love will save the day. You gotta be bad. You gotta be full. You gotta be wiser. You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger. You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta sit together. All I know, all I know, love will say day. Thank you, voices of inspiration, for that song. We will now hear from our esteemed mayor who never fails to inspire us with her words. Mayor McClain. Good morning on this chilly day.
I'm Marion McClellan. I am lucky enough to be the mayor of the great city of Oak Park. Before we start, I would like to send out a prayer for strength and healing to any of my friends here who are going through health challenges. May God, send you, hope and positivity. Remember, it's the devil that sends despair. Doctor Martin Luther King is why we are here today. How can we honor his memory?
One of the things that doctor King worked for was fair laws for everybody. Nobody's picked out to be discriminated against. It's gotta be fair. Things he knew that voting matters. Back then, there were tests before you could vote, but the white people didn't have to take the test. Only the black people had to take the test. There were taxes to vote. So if you didn't have a lot of money, you couldn't afford to vote. These are not fair on the face of them.
Voting matters. People died trying to defend the right to to vote. Doctor Martin Luther King fought for voting rights and helped pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965. No more literacy tests, no more poll taxes. Why was this a priority for him? Because he knew voting matters. I know people shrug. I did. Oh, my vote doesn't matter. Politics doesn't affect me. I won't bother voting, or I'll only vote for the president.
Many people hope that you believe voting doesn't matter and choose to sit out election day because they will win. Voting doesn't matter really? Did you know that some elections have been won by one vote? That's your vote. Each vote counts and matters. Once again, people are passing laws to make it harder for us to vote. People are raising a lot of money to keep you from voting or to convince you not to bother. They know there is power in the vote.
If you don't vote and their guy wins, they get to decide how your tax money is spent. We all put our money together in the whole country, and there's a pile of that money. Elected officials decide who are the winners and who are the losers. The definition of politics is the process by which we decide who gets what. Who should pay more in taxes, the rich or the poor? Right now, the rich folks are paying very little. Very wealthy guys said, it's not fair. I'm paying less taxes than my secretary.
It doesn't sound fair. Should grandma get social security so she can be independent every month? Some want to get rid of social security. Do your schools have enough money to have sports and choir? Some people wanna cut the money to schools. Should Should we have affordable housing so if you're working a job, you can afford to get an apartment? The winners of elections decide who gets what. Some are in the belief that oil companies should be supported, and they don't care
about the climate because there's money to be made selling oil. Others see wildfires, floods, and hurricanes and figure we only have one planet. If something goes wrong in our planet, we don't have a planet b to to go to, so we need to protect our planet. You're not sure who to vote for? Ask an adult you trust to explain the issues. Find candidates that stand up for your values. Register to vote in every election. We elected president Obama, but he couldn't do much because the other party had congress.
Stand up, be heard, and vote. You vote because you get used to voting. So as soon as you can vote, register to vote, bring your friends to register to vote, and vote in every election. Doctor King wants you to vote to bring fairness to the system. Our generation of old folks is counting on your generation of young folks to carry the torch. Repeat after me. I will vote. I will vote. In every election. In every election. I will vote. I will vote.
Thank you, and have a great day. Thank you, mayor, for your continue for your continued inspiration. We will now hear from elementary choir collab from our three elementary buildings, Pepper, Einstein, and Key. All of the kids have worked together to create some awesome music, so get ready to be amazed by the sounds of the elementary choir singing powerful by Alicia Keys. Thank you, elementary choir, for performance of powerful. We will now hear from the Oak Park city manager, mister Tungate.
Mister Tungate has a very important job. He is responsible for running the city of Oak Park every day. Okay. Good morning, Oak Park. Good morning. I am city manager Eric Tungate. And before I continue, I'd like to acknowledge I did see two of my the mayor is here, as you know. The mayor pro tem I think I saw Julie Edgar here at some point. I believe she's here. It is truly an honor to be with you here today, and I wanna thank the members of the board of education, our families, our parents, our students, and the
incredible staff at Oak Park Schools for inviting me to share this moment with you. Today, we gather not only to honor the life and legacy of doctor Martin Luther King Junior, but to reflect on what his message means right now. In this community, we are building together. Doctor King taught us that service to others is essential. His words were never intended only for the giants of history. They were meant for all of us, for everyday people, for local communities like ours,
for moments exactly like the one we're in. His call to justice, unity, and courage still echoes, not as a reminder of what once was, but as a challenge to what can be. Here in Oak Park, we answer that challenge each time we choose progress over politics, each time we bridge our differences, and each time we commit ourselves to ensuring that every person in our city belongs. And with the right tools, every person can thrive.
That is the work of community, and it is the work doctor King called us toward. But honoring him requires more than admiration. It requires action. It asks us to look honestly at what still needs to be done and then move forward with the conviction that progress is possible when we move together. For the past fourteen years as the administrative leader of our city government, I've done my best to help Oak Park grow stronger in every way.
Some believe that that work began only with leaner operations and stronger fiscal discipline. And while those things matter, the truth is this. It all began with our people, with rebuilding morale, with finding common ground, and with creating a clear shared vision that our employees and elected officials could feel right in their core. Whether it has been supporting families, strengthening economic development, or investing in public safety, our
work has always been rooted right here in real people with real needs in a real community. Doctor King often spoke about the beloved community, a place where justice, compassion, and equal opportunity shape the rhythm of everyday life. That wasn't just a dream. It was a blueprint. And I believe Oak Park has become a modern reflection of that vision, not perfect, not finished, but committed. As a city, we have faced challenges, but we've also shown resilience, compassion, and unwavering
resolve. And if doctor King taught us anything, it's that progress doesn't come from standing still. It comes from stepping forward with purpose and standing shoulder to shoulder with one another. So today, let's do more than remember his dream. Let's renew our commitment to carry it forward through our choices and our actions for the benefit of our shared future. Let 2026 be a year defined not by division, but by unity, a year defined
by service, a year defined by our belief that Oak Park's greatest days are ahead of us. Let us rise to this moment together and show what a united Oak Park can achieve. Thank you, and happy Martin Luther King Junior Day. Thank you, mister Tunngate. Before I introduce the next performance, let me tell you what some of what I learned about doctor King. I learned a lot about doctor King. I learned he did not believe in violence, only nonviolence. He believed he had the power to break the cycle retributive violence, creating long lasting
peace through record recondively silence. In 1957 speech, birth of a nation, doctor King said the aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community. The aftermath of nonviolence is redemption. Doctor King delivered his message of quality for all nonviolence. We will we will now see a video presentation of the twenty twenty six winners. Thank you. I love you, doctor King. Thank you, doctor King. I believe in your dream, and I am your dream. I am doctor King's dream, and the dream is alive.
Because of doctor King's dream, I can shoot for anything that I need to do. I believe in the dream, and the dream is still alive. Thank you, doctor King. I feel like a gatekeeper, a guardian of the process, the guardian of children understanding, who they are, where they come from, and what lies before them sets a foundation, for children at the elementary age. I learned a lot about doctor King. He was about peace and love.
He wanted everyone to be treated fairly. I worked hard on my Martin Luther King Junior project, and I didn't give up. He started a boycott. He didn't use hands to fight, but he used words to fight because the world is still, like, kind of full of chaos and stuff. We need people like Doctor King. We don't need to show hate to other people. I can help the world with love. This program is so important for our children.
So this year's theme for our district was believing in the dream because our children need to understand that they come from a legacy of dreamers. Being a dreamer is not a bad thing, especially if the present isn't what it needs to be. The children need to have a dream about a better future. I can help someone if they're sad, or I can chill cheers them out if they're sad or mad. I cannot march like doctor King, but I can do my own small thing.
Say nice things and share my stuff. Being kind is never too tough. I can help a friend who is feeling sad or cheer someone up when they're feeling sad. Little things can make a big change, and that's how we make the world less strange. We have to help our children understand where they come from and who they are. The reason that I, wrote this in the Doctor.
King project is because I got inspired of what he said and what he said, in his speech and his own bravery for saying of in front of all those people. It inspired me by showing that you could be brave in many different ways. Don't be scared of, like, a big audience and believe in yourself and don't believe in other things that you don't wanna believe in. Chase your dreams and never give up people. Thank you, doctor Kingfons. We are planting those seeds of hope, the audacity of hope, to quote, a former
president Barack Obama. We infuse our children with a sense of hope and purpose. Chase your dreams and never give up people. Thank you, doctor King, for inspiring me. He said, like, I have a dream, but he was actually talking about, like, my dream too because everything that we have today, they couldn't do back then. Be grateful for everything that I get because you could never have hard work and dedication. I want for others to, like, learn a lot about him too. Because of doctor King Jr, I can shoot for anything that I need to do.
Within the Oak Park School District, this is an exciting time as we celebrate. It's important to the district and our students that they understand the importance of doctor King and what he stood for. And in LeSSinger, we are called our LeSSinger Rebels, and Rebels stands for some of the core values that doctor King also had. The r is resilient, ethical, brilliant, empowered, loving, and self assured. We love doctor King, and the dream lives on.
He he brought peace, but he also brought strength. He brought made people feel encouraged, made people feel hope, and not knowing what would happen, not knowing how the outcome would be. I wasn't understanding that. That was that was huge. And with people in the time when he did it was so much despair, so much, you know, lack of belief and trust, but he gave them someone to trust, someone to love, and someone to feel like even though it's nonviolent, but our strength can be done in numbers. Our strength can be done with our words, with our actions. One of the things that I'm most appreciative is that we have a board of
education who is committed to making life better for the children of Oak Park. We have, a superintendent, assistant superintendent, and entire central office staff that believe in the children of Oak Park. We have, city government officials who believe in the dream of doctor Martin Luther King. So that's another thing that brings me great joy is that even in this climate
that we're in now politically, there are still people who are willing to stand for what's right and what is just. Like, programs like this is what's important because it brings it back together. It reminds people of the purpose. What reminds people of the the main thing, which is for people to have opportunities, equal opportunity in this country, which we're saying it is. Well, we have to live it. It has to be breathing. It has to be a part of our how we how we how we stand by the laws, how we stand by each other, the way we trust, the way we love, how we love.
It has to come through our our actions, our words, and doctor King was that. He was the you heard you hear his speeches. His speech you feel his speeches. His speeches still ring loud today. As a poet, when I read the I have a dream speech, I saw a person who wanted change, and I felt like in writing my poem that I was also, in a way, fighting for that change as well. And I feel like Martin Luther King, he moved the nation with his speech, and
I wanted to start little by little in moving people with mine. Doctor King was a family man, was a man of purpose, was a man of faith, was a man who believed that the present circumstances do not dictate the future. Right? So what excites me more than anything else is that we are teaching and we are passing the torch to the next generation. My poem is titled A Dream That Walked Forward. He spoke with a voice steady as a drumbeat, soft enough to heal, strong enough
to move a nation. In streets worn down by silence, he planted words like seeds, justice, hope, freedom, and believe they would grow. He taught that courage did not raise its fist, but opened its hands, choosing love where he had lived. Even when the night was loud with fear and anger, he carried a dream like a lantern, lighting paths others could not yet see. And though his steps were stopped, that dream kept walking in classrooms and marches and voices that will say, we can be better. I mean, he's dedicated his whole life. He was an incredible man of God, and he just has done so much other
things, and he has so many other speeches and books besides I Have a Dream. And that information is kinda reiterated during this time, which I think is really important. Some would say that this is a Sankofa moment, and Sankofa is an African bird, which which is a bird who has feet that are faced forward with a head that's looking backwards. And so meaning that we're in our present, reflecting on our past, and dictating our future. And it's so important for our children.
So this year's theme for our district was believing in the dream because our children need to understand that they come from a legacy of dreamers. The children need to have a dream about a better future. And so by participating in this study and doing research of doctor Martin Luther King, it really serves as a portal because it exposes children to the whole civil rights movement. My project was about Bryan Stevenson and how he carried on that legacy of Martin
Luther King Junior. Bryan Stevenson was is a lawyer and a social justice activist. Bryan Stevenson took a lot from MLK, like his speeches. He, expanded over his speeches, and he he's a lawyer and he ded he dedicated his lawyer career to helping inmates on death row who was wrongly accused. MLK and Bryan Stevenson inspired me by they worked hard for the rights of black people and when I grow up, you know, as a black man, then I'm a
I'm a have more opportunities than I would have if they didn't do what they did. Be a part of a community of the city of Oak Park who understand the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. What our role can help inspire others to learn about Bryan Stevenson and MLK and their legacy and how it continues forever. Doctor King is here today. I would thank him for all the work that he's done for the African American race and equality as a whole.
Laws may be removed, but it's not about the laws. It is about the condition of the heart and to be able is to work in a district and live in a city that looks at the heart of the children in our community and say that they deserve a great education, and that will set them up for a better tomorrow. Believing in the dream because the dream lives on. I have the pleasure to present to you doctor Martin Luther King Jr.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro
slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the
manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination one hundred years later. The Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity one hundred years later. The Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. Yes. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense, we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the constitution and the declaration of independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient fund. But we refuse to believe that the Bank of Justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity
of this nation. And so we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood, now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment.
This sweltering summit of the Negroes' legitimate discontent will not pass until that is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off And will now be content, will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America Until the Negro is granted his
citizenship rights, the whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But that is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup
of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the hard plain of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people.
For many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, when will you be
satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality, we can never be satisfied. As long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities, We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger
one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating for whites only. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote, and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No. No. We are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not my unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cell. Some of you have come from areas where your quest quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution Yes. And staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith. That unarmed suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi. Go back to Alabama. Go back to South Carolina. Go back to Georgia. Go back to Louisiana. Go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friend, so even though we face the difficulties of
today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. Yes. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. Yes. I have a dream that one day Yes. This nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the Red Hills Of Georgia, the sons
of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification. One day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted. Every hill and mountain shall be made low. The rough places will be made plain. And the crooked places will be made straight. And the bird of the Lord shall be revealed. And all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is a faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation
into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, my country tears of thee. Sweet land of liberty of thee, I sing. Land where my fathers died.
Land of the pilgrims pride. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow capped Rockies Of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain Of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain Of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside. Let freedom ring. And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city. We will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black
men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last. I hope you enjoyed the video. It is now time for the presentation of the Keeper Promise Award award. We will have her announced this year. We are honoring two individuals. I would like to welcome mister Haley. We are now in a part of the program where we're going to honor this
year's awardees with the Keeper of the Promise award. This year, we did something very unique In the merging of the relationship between the school district and the city of Oak Park, we have decided to recognize a city official as well as a district person. The Oak Park School District is proud to present the Martin Luther King Junior Keeper of the Promise Award to Steve Cooper.
Officer Cooper is a devoted public servant who has faithfully served the Oak Park community since 1990. With more than 23 of public safety experience, director Cooper's career reflects a deep commitment to justice, service, and the dignity of every individual. Values that marry that mirror that closely mirror the life and legacy of doctor King.
Director Cooper began his career with the Oak Park City of Oak Park as a public safety officer in And for ten years as a member of the and for ten years as a member of the special response team. He later served as deputy director, acting director, and ultimately director of public safety, where
he now leads police and fire operations with integrity, courage, and compassion. He holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Ferris State University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Under director Cooper's leadership, the Oak Park Public Safety Department has fully embraced a community policing philosophy rooted in trust, transparency, and shared responsibility.
Through initiatives such as the Public Safety Citizens Academy, Coffee with a Cop, school outreach programs, youth engagement events, and expanded support for seniors, director Cooper has consistently prioritized relationships over authority and service over power. Like doctor King, director Cooper demonstrates courage in taking on responsibility, integrity and leadership, empathy
for community concerns, persistence in problem solving, and authenticity in action. He leads not merely through position, but through presence, Modeling what it means to protect, serve, and uplift the entire community. For his unwavering dedication and his commitment to keeping the promise of justice, service, and community alive, we are honored to recognize director Steve Cooper with the Martin Luther King
Junior Keeper of the Promise Award. Good morning, Oak Park. To say that I I'm deeply humbled and honored would be a tremendous understatement. Like I said, I've had the pleasure and honor of, serving in the capacity as a public safety officer with the City of Oak Park for thirty six years. In the past fourteen years, I've had the honor of leading this, department. And the community that we serve is second to none. It's not just a job. It's it's it's family. And we have had the honor and the sure distinction of having a very intimate
and a very positive relationship with the Oak Park School District, for my entire tenure here as a public safety officer. Could not be happier with the, collaborative efforts that the school district, as well as our department, as well as our city, have ventured in to move this community forward. We could not, do it alone. It it truly takes a village to to raise a community. I was sitting in a meeting a couple days ago with, with my boss, the
city manager, Eric Tongate, and and some others. And we were talking about trust and respect. And it, resonated with me because I'd I'd been, listening to a lot of, media commentations that had been going on throughout the past months. And they talked about the the profession of public safety and law enforcement, and they talked about, how we earn trust and respect. And the thing that just really resonated, it says that you earn trust and respect in droplets, but you can actually lose that in buckets. And, you know, it could not be truer words ever spoken.
And we at the, public safety department, like I said, there's a lot of other men and women that that stand shoulder to shoulder with me to, make this department, and our and help to make our community, successful as as it has been. And to stand here and pretend and stick my chest out of pretend that, that, I got here alone is is would be a a gross misunderstanding. For all the men and women that stand along beside me, that have encouraged me, for the school district for recognizing me, not only actually receiving the award and the
distinction, but just being, considered was an extreme honor. But when I heard that I was actually, gonna be a recipient, this year, I was speechless. To doctor Haley, to the Oak Park School, district, to all of the organizers who, have been involved in this event, who felt that I was worthy enough for the nomination as well as, the, receiving this award. I I thank you. I thank you for allowing me to serve here in the city of Oak Park. It's been a great honor of mine. I love this community.
I love this school district. I look forward to continuing our relationship, and continuing to move doctor King's, visions forward. And I would just like to say again, thank you. God bless you. Thank you for the honor, and, maybe you continue to work together to, fulfill the dream. Thank you. It is also my honor to present mister Ronnie Osteon as a nominee who truly embodies the spirit of the doctor Martin Luther King Leadership Keeper of the Promise Award.
Mister Osteon is more than a public more than an educator or a colleague. He is a cornerstone of our school community. With over twenty years of education in education, mister Osteon approaches his work not as a job, but as a calling. As a father of four, he leads by example, modeling integrity, discipline, and compassion both inside and outside the school building.
His leadership is visible in the way he shows up every day ready to listen, ready to support, and ready to lead with purpose. Mister mister Osteon holds students to high expectations while meeting them with care and accountability. He is a constant trusted presence, whether in the hallways, at athletic events, or during school celebrations, speaking life into students, reminding them of their value and potential.
His impact reaches far beyond academics, shaping character, confidence, and direction. He is also the creator of the message, goal be great on purpose, with a philosophy that he lives out daily. This message aligns deeply with doctor King's belief that true leadership is rooted in service, dignity, and intentional action. Like doctor King, mister Osteon leads with authenticity, compassion, and an unwavering equip unwavering commitment
to equality and community. As doctor King asked, what are you doing for others? Mister Ronnie Austin answers that question every day. Our school and our community are better because he chooses to wake up and be great on purpose, mister Ronnie Osteon. Wow. I wasn't expecting all that. I wasn't expecting this. Mister Hayden, he came and sought me out, and, I thought I was getting in
trouble. So so I was like, oh, man. Why is he looking for me? So he came and found me, and he tell me, I'm I'm the head of this. And I'm like, oh, man. I'm I'm out of here. So he said, but we wanna give you something, the the keyboard of promise. And I was I was I was actually blown away. Because sometimes you don't feel like what you're doing is is is appreciated or people see actually what you do. But, he told me I didn't have to write a speech or whatever, but I did think of something on the way.
And it wasn't about me, it's about me being a product of of the dreamer, which is my grandmother. My grandmother was born in 1930, and she kinda lived all this doctor King stuff. She from Mississippi. I just seen him say that. And she's 95 years old. But you'll see her at the football games. You'll see her here. So yesterday, my son had a track meet, and she was able to come. But she'd always she she would she would always speak life into me and my
son. So my son, she would say, oh, you're gonna run yourself to college. You're gonna run yourself to college. You're gonna run yourself to college. You're gonna run yourself she would just say it all the time. And and speak it at it to him, and just speak it into existence, he he just signed a four year scholarship to go to University of Michigan. But she was yesterday, he had a track meet, and she was able to and it was at the University of Michigan. And she was able to go and watch him run. And not only did he run, he won the he had the fastest time in
Michigan history. So she was able to see that. And, while we're sitting there, I was sitting next to her, she kept on saying she called me, too man. She said, too man, I was good at that. I used to be able to do that. And I could to high jump. And I'm looking at her like, oh, yeah. Okay. Whatever. So she was like, yeah. I could do all those things. She said, but I didn't have the she couldn't find the word. The word was resources. She didn't have the resources. She said, I wonder where I would be if I would had the resources. And I was just, like, kinda hurt. Like, but we did. So we stand on the shoulders of her.
I'm the product of the dreamer. I'm the product of her. So this is going straight over there when I leave here. So thank you all. It'll be great on purpose. Congratulations, award winners of the Keeper of Promise award award. We will now hear from the Oak Park marching band. Our band is fantastic. Yeah. Fantastic. To close our doctor King celebration, we will now hear from missus Murphy, acting superintendent. Thank you. She did good, y'all.
Come on. Let's give our mistress and master of ceremony. Come on, all children. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Give it up for them, you all. It's so great to be a come on. Come on. It takes a lot of bravery and courage to come up in front of you, grown folk and speak a word. So let's give it up for one more time, the master of ceremony and the mistress of ceremony for doing such a fantastic job. Good job, children. Good job. Good job. Ain't our marching league just so amazing? Okay. Okay. Under direction. And and I have a little, slight, personal connection.
You all see that little girl drum major? Okay, that's my baby from Key Elementary. Was she doing a wonderful job? Alright, that that that's my baby. Well, all of them are my babies, and we are so happy to serve here at the Oak Park School District. We count it not things that we must do, but we have to do to serve the staff, students, and children and families of the Oak Park School District. So at this time, I do want to give special shout out and thanks to our wonderful school board that's sitting up here. Let's clap it up for them. And our superintendent, mister Angel Abdulahad, in his absence, along with our city officials, mister
Tongate, mayor McClellan. We thank you, director Cooper, for coming out and participating in our annual Doctor. Martin Luther King, Keeper of the Promise Program. Also, we would like to thank let me make sure I go to my notes here. Uh-huh, uh-huh. We call him Deacon. But after today and y'all call him principal. But But after today, I think I'm a call him gatekeeper Haley. Come on, let's clap it up. For principal Emmanuel Haley of the Doctor. James N. Pepper Elementary School. This takes a ton of work to put together, but it is his heart's desire
to make sure that the children of the Oak Park School District never forget the dream of Doctor. King. So we thank him today for his service and to being a gatekeeper and making sure that our children remember the works that have been done before them. And we thank the steering committee today, miss Finkley, miss, George, miss Lallier. I think I'm forgetting somebody. And as well as the music department, our elementary music department, and our director of bands, mister John Aches, for coming out and making sure that our young people are here to participate.
And then finally, we wanna thank the Oak Park principals, for working alongside mister Haley, making sure their children were ready for the video. They got those projects out, sent them over to mister Haley, that beautiful, vestibule, display out there with all of the projects. And finally, because I know it's cold and some of y'all hungry because y'all missed y'all Wheaties this morning trying to get here. So we wanna thank the families and most important, the students of the Oak Park School District. Come on. Let's give it up for our students. We can put it together.
You can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make them drink. Right? And so we thank our students and our families for braving the cold. Last year was cold too, but y'all keep coming. Thank you for making sure you got up this morning. Many of you on your day off to bring our children here to be partakers in this wonderful event. So we thank you for your time today. We thank you for showing up and for the children for showing out. And we pray that this was a blessing to you as you made your way. And again, remember, may the work you do, may the life you live and may the service you give speak for you.
Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your day.