On Friday, January 17 th , 2025, the 29 th Annual MLK Oratory Contest was held at Antioch
Missionary Baptist Church in Houston, Tx. Foley & Lander LLP host this contest in Houston,
Dallas, and Chicago, it is open to fourth and fifth grade students who give an original three-to-
five-minute speech on a pre-selected topic based on Dr. Martin Luther King’s teachings. The
contest was created to highlight local talent and encourage writing and public speaking skills to
elementary aged children. The topic for the 2025 contest was “What would Dr. King tell us about
our responsibility as citizens and leaders in America today?”
Each contest starts with a virtual or in school round to make sure that students qualify, then
followed by semifinals and finals. The students are judged on delivery, stage presence, decorum,
content interpretation, and memorization. The last round is judged by a panel of community
leaders and local business owners. The final round took place in each city on Friday, January
17 th , 2025. Montoia Murray, a fifth-grade student at Blackshear Elementary in Houston, TX won
for the second year in a row, she is the first repeat winner. In her award-winning speech, she said
Dr. King would tell us that our responsibilities as citizens and leaders in America today, is to
keep pushing forward. “I stopped by to tell you on my way to middle school that Dr. King would
say, America, you’ve made it this far now try CPR.”
Deon Harris was the contest winner in Dallas, Tx. A fourth-grade student at J.P. Starks Math,
Science, and Technology Vanguard, he said he believes that as Dr. King looks at our current
society, “his heart would grieve, not just because of the state of America but because of the
condition of America’s heart. I think Dr. King would tell us that America is experiencing heart
failure.” Harmony Daniels was the contest winner in Chicago, Il. A fourth-grade student at
Wendell Smith Elementary, she said according to Dr. King our responsibility as citizens and
leaders in America today is to “drive America to be more positive, kind, loving, and gentle. The
dream Dr. King had was for us to be responsible citizens.”
Montoia, Deon, and Harmony encouraged everyone to restart its commitment to justice, restore
America’s heartbeat, and listen to the sound of responsibility Dr. King emphasized. The mission
that Dr. King upheld for Americans has not changed and it is our responsibility and duty to
continue to uphold that mission and pass it on to future generations. Foley and Lander LLP give
the future of our world the opportunity to learn, write, and speak about the mission each year. Dr.
King was a pioneer, may his legacy live forever.
