The Contest was Different This Year

It looked different this year.
Limited guests to come watch.
District judges connected only virtually through the camera Coleman is looking at.
Masks on till the last minute before his speech.
First place prize money coming in the mail instead of at a gathering of celebration.
It all looked different this year.

But the message isn’t different.
Martin Luther King, Jr. had things to say.
And every year Coleman chooses something different from his extensive library of speeches to memorize and repeat for the school district’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech Contest.
The speeches are different.
Different titles.
Different dates given.
Different places they were spoken.
But the messages aren’t different.

They are all centered on hope.
They are all centered on change.
They are all centered on really knowing who you are.
They are all centered on love.

It all looked different this year.
But the message is the same.
Hope. Change. Identity. Love.