ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Forward of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, occasions are being held to honor his legacy, proper right here, within the Bay Space. The MLK Dream Massive Showcase introduced music and objective to St. Petersburg.
At Gibbs Excessive College, music crammed the air as younger musicians confirmed off their expertise.
For college students like Zacharriah Martin, the Martin Luther King Jr. Battle of the Bands was about greater than the notes on a web page.
“He performs alto sax, and he’s additionally the part chief,” his mom Aquinetta Nelson stated.
Zacharriah has huge desires. He needs to attend Florida A&M College, a prestigious traditionally black school in Tallahassee.
“I need to be part of the band and main in civil engineering or pc science,” stated Zacharriah.
However this showcase wasn’t nearly music, group leaders stated it addresses vital points going through our youth.
“We have had some points with youth and weapons in our group. We have had a variety of youths who’ve been killed, sadly, on account of gun violence and auto thefts and issues of that nature. So, some of these packages can help you have an alternative choice to do one thing totally different after which to have the mentoring piece,” County Commissioner Rene Flowers stated.
With Dr. King’s message of service at its core, county commissioner Rene Flowers stated with the shutdown of many range, fairness, and inclusion packages, occasions like this play an excellent larger function.
“With the closure of a whole lot of DEI packages and issues of that nature, I imagine he might be reinforcing these values,” Flowers stated. “But additionally, I believe he regarded out into the gang and noticed the cross-section of individuals from varied elements of our group. And he’ll say he was effectively happy.”
The MLK DDream Massive Band showcase would not simply have fun music–it creates a pathway for youth to succeed, each on and off the sphere.
