MLK Jr. Social Justice Contest winners celebrated, entries on display

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (GRPS) -- Three Grand Rapids Public Schools scholars were announced as winners of the 20th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Legacy Contest. 

The contest is a collaboration between Warner Norcross + Judd and Grand Rapids Public Schools. It is open to all GRPS sixth graders. This year, 185 scholars participated. 

This year’s winners are:

• 1^st place: Isaac Rizkalla, Blandford School, “The Torch”
• 2^nd place: Annalynn Pido, Grand Rapids Montessori, “For Us to Get Along”
• 3^rd place: Karis Davis, Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy, “Why Should I?”

“A message that I was trying to convey with my poem is that people like me have a privilege and instead of abusing that privilege we should use it for the greater good and help the people who do not have that privilege,” Rizkalla said.

The top three winners all received two tickets to see Broadway Grand Rapids’ production of Hamilton. First place also received an Apple iPad. Second place received an Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus Tablet with wireless charging dock. Third place received a $100 gift card to the We are LIT! Multicultural Bookshop.

The entries are on display throughout the month of February at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

All honorable mention winners also received $25 gift cards to the We are LIT! Multicultural Bookshop.

Honorable Mention

• Aberdeen Academy
  • K’Shawn Bunting
• Center for Economicology
  • Monica Hodges
  • Beckett Hill
  • Finnegan Saltsman
  • Destiny Jones
  • Amelia McKee
  • Leo Blythe
  • Aubrey Harmon
  • Selam Gebrelibanos
  • Ezra Visser
  • Kevin Li
  • Moses Bowers Payne
  • Oliver Peterson
• Dickinson Academy
  • Clauberneta Brown
• Grand Rapids Montessori
  • Violet Boris
  • Arlyn Lopez
  • Christopher Johnson
  • Penelope Verkaik
• Harrison Park Academy
  • Orlando Barnes
  • Jaelyn Baker
• Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Academy
  • Mya Smith
• North Park Montessori
  • Layla Vilchez
  • Ariadne Nordyk
  • Daniel Kraff
  • Chrislyn Luster
  • Finley Prins
  • Wesley Bowen
  • Kalani Kalumbula
• Ridgemoor Park Montessori
  • Valorie Sweet
  • Donovan Braciak
• Riverside Middle School
  • Erika Merida-Vasquez
  • Mila Selden
  • Cy’Teria Clark
  • Nyla Jackson
  • Alfa Innocent
  • Pena Aryah
  • Prastiq Ward
  • De’air McNair
• University Preparatory Academy
  • Marshay Pratt
  • Carill Mackenzie
  • Madelyn Jeronimo
  • Susan Sanchez Vargas
  • Elsy Lopez-Vasquez
  • Duane Sierz
  • Olivia Moore