For John Marshall High School senior Renashea Hunt, exploring one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s lesser-known speeches was rooted in family history.

Hunt said conversations with her father and great-grandfather — both active in community advocacy — often center on poverty, reparations and the impact of gentrification. Those discussions helped guide her first-place presentation on King’s 1967 “Reparations” speech during the MLK Oratorical Contest on Saturday. 

“These are things that are happening now that we should be talking about,” Hunt said after the contest, explaining her choice. 

The event, sponsored by Living the Dream, brought about 30 people, including Richmond Public Schools leaders and students, to Virginia Union University’s L. Douglas Wilder Library to examine King’s speeches and his legacy’s relevance. 

The students’ performances were evaluated by judges on their creativity, delivery, originality and overall impact. 

“These young people are carrying forward Dr. King’s legacy through spoken word, music, art, visual expression,” School Board Chair Shavonda Fernandez said during the contest. “They’re not just only reflecting on his dream, but they are interpreting it for this generation and challenging us to live it more fully.” 

The presentations varied widely, from drawing connections between the “constructive tension” King described in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and the pressures facing today’s youth, to applying lessons from “The Power of Nonviolence,” “A Time to Break the Silence” and “I Have a Dream” to their own lives. 

Students also incorporated audience participation and engagement into their performances, and one presentation of “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” featured audio from the speech itself. 

Hunt received a $400 award for her performance. Open High School sophomore Jakayla Parker placed second and earned $200, while Huguenot High School senior Te’Ron Jefferson finished third and received $100. All contestants were presented with trophies and certificates. 

“If you share your knowledge of the history of this country given to you through your reading of Dr. King’s speeches and his life,” retired RPS educator Bill McGee said in an address to the students, “you will change and have a great impact on your peers and everyone else.” 

The Dream continues-Chenaeyah Robertson, center, a 12th grader at Richmond High School for the Arts, delivers a speech with other members of the RPS speech team during the MLK Oratorical Contest at Virginia Union University on Jan. 24. Sponsored by Living the Dream Inc., the contest featured student orators interpreting several of King’s most influential speeches. (photo by Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press)