City leaders mark 29th annual MLK Jr. birthday celebration

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The 29th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration, was held on Sunday, January 20th at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.

The program highlighted Milwaukee-area youth who interpreted Dr. King's works through art, speech and writing. 

"Their insight into the future right now is going to have a great impact on the way their world is shaped in the city of Milwaukee," one attendee said.

The theme for this year's program was "Fair Play, Good Will and Justice" which was taken from, A testament of Hope, The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. The speech from which this theme was drawn was given in 1961 during Dr. King's fight for racial justice and acceptance. 

This year, the program featured guest speaker, George Koonce, Director of Development, Scholarship Programs at Marquette University. 

Saiveon Bolden won second place in the Dr. Martin Luther Speech Contest.

"He didn't care if people judged him or did anything to him. He just helped everybody," Bolden said.

Some of the performing arts groups featured will be the Hmong American Peace Academy Dancers, Ballet Folklorico Nacional, Aarabhi Indian School of Dance, Milwaukee High School of the Arts Jazz Group, Signature Dance Company, and MYSO Calypso. 

"I have grandkids and I want them to learn about their history and learn everything they can. It's good for them to see other kids getting involved and learning about their history and it's something they also can do," one attendee said.

In addition, the United States Postal Service unveiled the 2013 Black Heritage Stamp. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. would have turned 84 years old last week.