EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Nearly 60 years after he said the famous words, "I have a dream," Martin Luther King Jr's message is still being spread — this time through artwork inside East Stroudsburg University's Madelon Powers Gallery.
The art exhibition features the work of 55 high school students and their interpretations of MLK's life and legacy for the Julianna V. Bolt Art Contest.
This year's theme is "I Have a Dream" – 60 Years Later.
"That's the African American flag. Then I decided to go with the first because, in the past few years, it's been very impactful in the media. So, this top part here is victims of police brutality between 1960 and 2000, and then this bottom one is victims of police brutality between 2001 and 2022," said Joelle Lurry from East Stroudsburg High School North.
"I collaged together in the background news clippings from police brutality stuff recently, and I just want to like remember everybody that he said that 'I have a dream,' but that dream is still like working to be completed," said Megan Farrelly, the second place winner and a senior at East Stroudsburg High School North.
The annual art competition has been around for 25 years, but this is the first year East Stroudsburg University is hosting it in its gallery.
"I think that this younger generation is able to express themselves and speak their minds about the mission that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had originally installed, and they're still carrying that on, and they're speaking very loud," said Prof. Darlene Farris-LaBar.
The contest is in honor of Wayne Bolt's late wife, Julianna, who served as an accountant for the East Stroudsburg University Foundation.
"We started an essay contest first. It's kind of hard to have high school kids write a good essay, so we did the art contest," Bolt said. "It's been pretty good. I love to see the kids, the future Americans; I love to see them get involved."
The free gallery exhibit is open until January 26.
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