Jennifer Singleton dismisses Vose Elementary School choir members (from left) Felipe Reys, Emily Rivera Beleche and Andrea Arellano, after their performance Sunday at the Washington County Martin Luther King Day celebration in Beaverton’s Southminster Presbyterian Church. The event included speeches by area leaders and honored youth who contributed art, poetry and multimedia celebrating equality.
About 250 people of varying age, race and religion gathered Sunday at Southminster Presbyterian Church for Washington County’s 10th annual celebration honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
The event included speeches from elected officials and appearances by Washington County’s human rights leaders, but the highlights came from local youth who were honored for their contributions to King’s legacy.
“We’re the next generation,” said Naman Jain, a 17-year-old junior at Beaverton’s School of Science and Technology who was among several youth recognized for their work. “If we don’t put the change in what the world needs, then who will?”
Jain’s poem, “Hope for Tomorrow,” won the Beaverton Human Rights Advisory Commission’s Creative Expressions Contest. Equality-themed art and multimedia from other area youth also were recognized during the ceremony.
“It’s my duty to give justice,” Jain read from his poem. “To the ones who have died, to the ones who have lost, to the ones who have simply forgot.”
The event, one of several weekend gatherings around the state honoring the slain civil rights leader, celebrated diversity in one of Oregon’s most racially varied counties.
According statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 28 percent of Washington County’s 537,318 residents identify themselves as a racial or ethnic minority. That includes a Hispanic or Latino population of more than 15 percent, an Asian population of nearly 9 percent, and a black population just over 2 percent.
Since King uttered the words, “I have a dream,” more than 47 years ago, America’s interpretation of the dream has evolved beyond the 1960s civil rights movement. Today, the dream represents racial, ethnic, social, religious and economic justice, said Julie Rubenstein, chairwoman of the committee that put on Sunday’s celebration.
Rubenstein said future generations must interpret what King’s message means in a changing society. That’s why engaging youth has been a focus of the celebration for years.
“It’s important for them to be aware,” she said. “That’s part of our education piece.”
Jain’s winning poem was influenced by the genocide in Rwanda — a human rights issue that didn’t exist during King’s time.
Jain, who is of Indian heritage, spent several years at a boarding school in India with other students from across the globe. He often encountered local children who were homeless and hungry.
Jain said living among such diversity and inequality informed his view of King’s legacy.
“It gave me a new perspective on how I see the world,” he said.
Dennis Noack, 18, a senior at Beaverton’s Arts & Communication Magnet Academy, said he believes area youth are making progress toward a more just world, but “there’s a lot of injustice still out there that we need to face” in the United States and globally.
Noack produced a video montage shown at the celebration, featuring clips of King’s speeches and the aftermath of his assassination on April 4, 1968.
“Martin Luther King Day is a reminder to us how bad things were at one point,” Noack said. “It’s important, so that in order to keep history from repeating itself, we have to remember those who played a big role in helping us change for the better.”
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