Students from all four schools in the Malverne School District celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 18 to the theme of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
The evening’s program, hosted this year by Principal Ed Tallon. of Davison Avenue Intermediate School, began with a presentation of colors by members of the Lakeview Girl Scouts and an invocation by Rev. Melvin Boone, of St. Paul AME Church in Rockville Centre.
The tribute included lively vocal performances with inspirational messages from students at Downing and Davison, as well as skits proclaiming “change today” from Howard T. Herber’s Harmony Chorus. It concluded with a modern dance piece set to the “I Have a Dream” speech by members of the high school’s Black Studies Group.
The ceremony was not complete, however, until the recipients of the 2013 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award were honored. This year’s honorees were Donald Hayes, a Malverne Volunteer in Public Schools (VIPS), and Kito Lockwood, a coach and student support mentor at the high school.
The honorees were invited onto the stage to receive a plaque from the district, as well as a special citation from Assemblyman Brian Curran. Both of the honorees are prime embodiments of Dr. King’s ideals of perseverance, dedication and compassion.
