For Ian Oommen, the work of Martin Luther King Jr. resonates in his everyday life.
Oommen, a fourth-grader at Great Hearts Academy in Irving, says he could not live in his own neighborhood or play sports or attend school with white children if it had not been for King.
Oommen’s essay was awarded the top prize in his age group, third through fifth grade, in Irving’s MLK essay contest.
“Today there is still work to be done to eradicate division and racism,” Oommen wrote. “We need to strengthen unity and brotherhood in our nation and in our world to continue this important work, and we need hope.”
Iha Jadhav, a sixth grader at Coppell Middle School East, wrote the winning essay for sixth through eighth grade.
Jadhav wrote that our nation must continue King’s work, even when we fall short.
Read the full story at Dallas Morning News.
