Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Committee Hosts Art Reception

January 18, 2023: At the Clovis Veterans Memorial District, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Committee held an art reception and program for students of Fresno County.

In partnership with the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, the Foundation at Fresno County, and EECU, the Unity Committee was able to put together this annual art show in which students from across Fresno County can display art, essay’s, and even speeches.

This year’s theme was “What is Your Life’s Blueprint? Building a Future on Dignity, Learning, Love, and Justice”.

After the National Anthem performed by Edison High Student Rowan Crass, and Dr. Jeffrey Hunt’s welcome on behalf of the Unity Committee, Essay, Art, and Speech winners were presented and celebrated above a stage in the Independence Room of the Clovis Veterans Memorial District.

With four divisions of Art Winners, students from all across Fresno County were represented especially in “Division D” and “Division A” which had three Clovis High students see their art win awards.

In Division D, Isabella Escamilla and Dylan Hannah, both from Clovis High School received Honorable Mentions, while Milani Stanton won First Place for her project.

In Division A, Cassidy Park of Fugman Elementary and Aria Houston of Garfield Elementary received Honorable Mentions, while Chelsea Park won First Place from Fugman Elementary.

Grace Melendez of Valley Oak Elementary won Honorable Mention in Division B, while Victor Brown and Avery Gregory from Kastner Intermediate and Reyburn Intermediate won Honorable Mention and First Place in Division C, respectively.

Six students from Clovis Unified were Essay Winners, ranging from Elementary to Middle School grade levels.

Elementary:

Ava Kim- First Place, Fugman Elementary

Jacob Terrence- Second Place, Woods Elementary

Talia Altamimi- Third Place, Liberty Elementary Middle School:

Chelsea Su- First Place, Kastner Intermediate

Sophia Helsley- Second Place, Kastner Intermediate Victor Brown- Third Place, Kastner Intermediate

And finally, a few Clovis Unified students were also honored in the Speech contest in all three brackets, Elementary, Middle School, and High School.

Elementary: Alice Feng- Second Place, Bud Rank Elementary Middle School: Sanja Jhangiani- First Place, Granite Ridge High School: Priya Prajapati- First Place, Clovis North High School

A final dance was performed by Roosevelt School of the Arts Dance Performers just before final comments and acknowledgements were made by Dr. Allison Hernandez, Director of ELA, ELD and HSS for the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools. In the First Place Award winning essay submitted by Fresno Unified’s Sunnyside High School student, Reese Cantu, it is mentioned that “The values of dignity and learning help you achieve many things and helps you get to your goals.”

With this, it appears that these up-an-coming students understand these values and look to implement them in their lives through the avenues of art that were presented that night.