1st Place – Marielys Solano
Since childhood, many of us have been taught to pursue high-status jobs such as doctors, lawyers or policemen, often because we are told these careers guarantee financial stability.
It is important to remember, however, that everyone faces their own challenges, and achieving personal goals matters most. It’s important to build bridges toward our goals and dreams.
Not everyone will support us, so we must be ready to overcome obstacles and work toward our dreams, despite negativity from others.
We are often encouraged to excel in school and handle responsibilities at home as preparation for adulthood. However, society is filled with negativity, unfair expectations and bullying, all of which shape how we view ourselves and our futures.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared a dream that showed differences and called us to join together, setting aside race, opinion, belief and personal problems. It’s this generation that holds our future and our hope for change.
He dreamed that there would be justice and freedom, that people wouldn’t get judged for the way they looked, and that one day we could unite like brothers and sisters and leave our differences aside.
“With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood,” King said. “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.”
Martin Luther King had faith in us as humans that we would one day stop being selfish and stop judging when that wasn’t our job. He had faith in God, and I, as a believer in Christ, also have faith. I believe that one day this generation and the generations to come will be different and will be able to live in peace, in solidarity, instead of building walls against each other.
So what are we waiting for, for our future generations to change, and for us to become more like sisters and brothers, and be a team together to help each other instead of hurting each other.
We know that there are many people in this world who don’t know what they do and commit terrible errors, but where are the ones who are ready to make a difference and stand up for justice, just like Martin Luther King was?
Are we ready for this change? Are we ready to be the change that this world needs? Are we ready for building bridges, not walls?
2nd Place – Alexis Wilcher
Growing up, I would hear stories about strong Black activists like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but the ones who really interested me were the strong Black women activists. Whether they were fighting for civil rights or women’s rights, they always piqued an interest in me.
I didn’t know it then, but I had my own strong Black woman. My mom. My mother is the most strong headed, opinionated, loyal, blunt, hardworking woman I know. She always built bridges, not walls.
She tells it like it is and does not sugarcoat anything. She doesn’t change for anyone or anything no matter what. I aspire to be like her one day.
My mom has faced many challenges in life as a single parent raising three kids with two to three jobs. I didn’t realize growing up how much she went through to care for us. As kids, you don’t realize how much your parents have sacrificed for you.
My mom has sacrificed a lot over the years, whether it was food, money or sleep. My brothers and I never went hungry, always had a roof over our heads and a safe place to sleep. She always said that she worked so hard so that we wouldn’t go without anything.
Even when she was having a hard time she would make sure we were good. If we needed money for school, she would make it happen. If we wanted to do afterschool activities, she would make sure we had a ride back home. My mom is our biggest supporter. Ceremonies, games and plays, she would attend them all. She would be the loudest person in the audience.
My earliest memory of her building bridges was when my oldest brother, Jamal, was in high school. I was a few months old, my second-oldest brother, Andre, was 6, and Jamal was 14.
One time, Jamal was walking in the halls during transition, and some boy pulled my brother’s backpack and made him fall to the floor. They started to fight and the school called my mom, telling her that they wanted to suspend Jamal and the boy for 10 days. My mom didn’t understand why they wanted to punish my brother when he didn’t start the fight. So, my mom told the school that she was coming up there after she picked me and Andre up.
Whenever in a situation, my mom always asked our side of the story first before dealing with the school.
My mom drove up to school with me and Andre, asked Jamal what happened, and then went inside the school office. Andre and I sat inside, but I started to get fussy, so my mom took me into the principal’s office with her. My mom talked to the principal and got my brother out of the 10-day suspension.
There have been countless occasions where my mom got me and my brothers out of trouble. She always told us “I am your biggest advocate.” I remember seeing my mom march into the school and be respectful but firm. If we were wrong in the situation, she would tell us and tell us to fix it. She would have been a good lawyer.
Another time that she built bridges was when she would have her struggles as a single parent. She would have two to three jobs at the same time, working eight- and 12-hour shifts back to back, and would be running on two hours of sleep.
Although she would work a lot, she would have her off days. Her off days were the best. Me, her, and my brothers would do something fun together like going to the movies, out to eat, to the mall, etc.
One day, I want to be as strong and wise as my mother is. I want to build bridges, not walls, like my mother did. I want to make an impact in people’s lives like my mother did in mine.
3rd Place – Abigail Guillaume
When you think about Black activists you think of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leading the American Civil Rights Movement, championing equality and human rights for African Americans and all of humanity through peaceful protest; risking his life, his reputation and his safety from death threats and ultimately his assassination.
He faced intense discrimination, including physical violence and harassment from authorities and citizens. Therefore, for what he believed in, he fought hard when others didn’t want to or didn’t know how to.
Malcolm X, an African American minister and prominent activist championed Black empowerment, self-defense and nationalism. Fannie Lou Hamer was known for her work on voting rights, her powerful oratory, and her efforts to combat poverty and injustice for Black Americans.
These are examples of people who had great influence in impacting others’ lives, changing society by “Building Bridges Not walls.” In some types of ways I like to believe I build bridges as an immigrant who inspires to get a higher education than my parents ever had; to be a first generation college student and go into the medical field to became a pediatric surgeon or pediatrician.
For me it won’t be about how much money I make. It’s about me helping kids or other people with problems whether it’s physically, mentally or emotionally.
All too often when I watch a TV series, documentary or commercials, I see kids who are in serious condition and truly in need. Seeing burns on their skin, their fractured limbs, kids who are malnourished, as well as with birth defects, being dehydrated, or with developmental disorders, can get really heartbreaking.
By succeeding in my future career I hope to help little kids and make them feel safe, comfortable, valued and at ease, and help them even more by fostering kids who don’t have a place called home to stay or even the feeling that they belong. I believe I will build bridges not walls.
For me, “building bridges, not walls” means unifying with people over division, just like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other Black activists taught. It means everyone joining together, even when we are different, and trying to understand their experiences.
Instead of creating anger, fear or prejudice, I believe in creating connections through empathy, respect and communication. For me, building bridges means working together to solve problems and lifting each other up, accomplishing the unexpected, doing what people said you can’t achieve, and proving them wrong by setting new standards for the future.
Honorable Mention – Kelvin Verhovlyak
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. clearly had a dream, a fantastic one, but so too did his father. “My father was a builder of bridges, not walls,” said King Jr.. “His nonviolent leadership was all about tearing down walls of racial segregation and separation… Instead, he was about building bridges – bridges of trust and understanding.”
The world is still feeling the effects, and is tearing down those walls as a result. Unfortunately, the modern era has not completely demolished them all, as people still have some prejudices. As a young white male, it is hard to truly understand the history of what African Americans went through. However, we can use something that is constantly being shaped by innovation: media, and more specifically, movies.
Movies play a significant role in shaping our thoughts by reflecting our culture, beliefs and ideologies. More importantly, they can offer the viewer a new perspective and take them to an imaginary world. Take, for example, Django Unchained (2012). This film took place in 1858 and shows the horrible conditions African Americans were living in. They were treated poorly as they had no rights, meaning they were considered property, and were whipped to the point of having scars on their backs.
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed,” said King Jr. “Press on and keep pressing. If you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk – CRAWL.” He realized that there must be a change to force the barriers down, and make a pathway to freedom.
Now, let’s shift the perspective to something more interesting and unique: animals.
Animals? Yes, animals. One of my childhood favorite movies was Zootopia (2016). As I grew older, I came to understand the deeper meaning behind the animated film, which only made me love it even more. The movie’s message was to overcome prejudice and discrimination by using different animals in a city as a metaphor for a diverse society. The town is supposed to be a utopia. Still, it was more like a dystopia, which perfectly symbolized the state of America, and even some places today. Saying foxes are shifty and untrustworthy is like saying Blacks are shifty and dishonest, just as some languages associate the color black with evil, and red with the devil.
The Bad Guys (2022) also illustrates the stereotypes perfectly, as Wolf, the main character, said that he was the main villain in every story. When put in perspective with the animals, the prejudice is more visible; false accusations based on one’s race – or in the other case, species – even though they are all mammals/humans. They set a screen and see through what they call “savages” or “monsters,” while they do not realize they are staring back through a mirror.
King emphasizes this further: “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.” These movies teach children the importance of recognizing and avoiding racial stereotypes in a straightforward and easily digestible manner.
Speaking of kids, it is easy for them to fall into categorizations and stereotypes without even realizing it. They trust the people closest to them, whether family or friends, for their opinions on a particular group, especially when there is no education system in place.
“Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction,” said King. “The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.” With “separate but equal” schools, there was a clear wall, rather than a connection between the schools.
Movies can also help educate the youth. That’s why I want to be a director or an author, writing stories to take the reader on an adventure with a purpose, a message. That’s also why I am in Journalism: to present facts and reveal the truth.
King shows that it is crucial to educate and keep people informed, to constantly challenge beliefs, policies or even laws, if they seem wrong. As he states, “We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal.’’’
He showed the tyranny in America. Now it is our job to make sure we do not repeat the mistakes. That is why it is essential to remind people of the historical message conveyed by African American people through stories. With the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it is to build bridges, not walls.
