The Vermont Bar Association, in
partnership with its Diversity Section and Young Lawyers Division, sponsored a
Martin Luther King, Jr. Poster-Essay Contest to celebrate the life and message
of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle school students were asked
to create a poster and write a short essay interpreting what Dr. King’s quote: “The
arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice” means to
them. One winner and two runners-up were selected by the committee from the
many creative and thoughtful entries received from all over the state.
Governor Phil Scott presented awards to
the winning students at the Statehouse on January 23, 2019. Elizabeth
Cunningham, from Edmunds Middle School in Burlington, was presented with the
first-place plaque and traveling trophy for her school. Leanna Jo
DiCantio, from Stamford Elementary School in Stamford, received the first
runner-up plaque and the team of Allegra Muller and Emily Tringe, from the Main
Street Middle School in Montpelier, received second runner-up plaques.
VBA’s Executive Director, Teri Corsones,
welcomed the students, families and guests before the Governor spoke of the
importance of Dr. King’s message. Governor
Scott cited the “golden rule” to the guests and stressed the importance of
being kind and civil to one another. Before presenting each plaque, the Governor
asked the students to describe their posters and essays. Despite the complex theme of the contest and
the request for impromptu remarks, the students truly shined with their
thoughtful responses.
Contest winner Elizabeth Cunningham,
age 11, described in detail how the puzzle pieces are small and dark at the onset,
and included words like segregation, as Dr. King’s message was abstract and not
resonating or taking hold with enough people at first, but how they grew larger,
brighter and more connected through action, as they joined the words ‘justice,
community, peace and integrity.” First
runner-up, Leanna Jo DiCantio, admitted that her love of soccer helped form the
soccer theme, which was an excellent symbolic image of bending toward the goal
of justice and in her words “the goal of a moral universe.” Her family made the
3-hour trip the night before and stayed in the area. The Main Street Middle School team of Allegra
Muller and Emily Tringe each took turns describing how the arc was depicted as
a rainbow representing peace, justice, positivity and kindness and how we are
all walking toward the end of the rainbow, to reach it eventually. When
Governor Scott asked each winner how long it took them to prepare the poster
and essay, the Muller-Tinge team remarked that they thought there was an “always”
in the quote, as in always bends toward justice, so they ended up having to
redo the entire poster!
VBA
Diversity Section member Jessica Brown added her thanks to the students for
embracing the challenge and helping to share Dr. King’s message. The Governor presented
the awards and posed for photos with each of the winning teams and the group as
a whole. After the ceremony, the group of students and their families were
treated to a Statehouse tour and then were invited to the Vermont Supreme Court
where they were greeted by Chief Justice Paul Reiber.
Chief Justice Reiber took some time to
meet each winner individually, congratulated all of the students, and spoke to
the importance of Dr. King’s legacy. He told the guests the story of his colleague
the Honorable Jimmie M. Edwards who came all the way from St. Louis, Missouri to
Vermont Law School on Tuesday for a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration to
speak about his work mending the communities surrounding Ferguson, near St. Louis.
Amidst the inquisitive students, Chief
Justice Reiber also described how decisions are deliberated, written and
published. And for a most special treat, the guests were treated to a tour of
the Court’s chambers, back stairway and the individual Justice’s offices and
chambers. The students were fortunate to
be able to meet four of the Justices and pose with the Justices for pictures.
The students’ posters and essays will
be on display at the Supreme Court building for the near future. Please scroll
down to see the winning submissions and all the photos from the ceremonies. And click HERE to see all of the honorable mention entries.
The VBA would like to congratulate all
of the participants who submitted such excellent entries. Special thanks
to Governor Scott, the Sergeant-at-Arms, and Chief Justice Reiber, as well as
to all of their staff members for making the event so memorable for the winning
students, their teachers and families.
Parents and teachers should watch for
notices in October for next year's contest which is destined to be another
success!
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