Date: May 7, 2014
Contact: Robert T. Parker, (404) 331-5190
On Thursday, May 8, 2014 at 12:30 p.m., the Martin Luther King Jr. National
Historic Site, in partnership with the International World Peace Rose Gardens
(IWPRG), will host its 22nd annual "I Have A Dream" World Peace Rose
Garden Program. This is a free event and open to park visitors and general
public. The anniversary celebration will begin in the Heritage Sanctuary of
Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church (circa.1922) and will end with the unveiling
of 26 newly engraved winning Messages of Peace, installed along the edges of
the "I Have A Dream" Rose Garden. The Rose Garden is located in the
Peace Plaza, on the south side of the National Park Service Visitor Center,
directly across from the gravesite of Dr. and Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This year the Inspirational Messages of Peace Contest attracted nearly 2,000
students from schools within the Atlanta metropolitan area of Georgia, the
state of California, and crossing global boundaries into China, the Gaza Strip,
India and Mexico. The students were invited to creatively and poetically write
unique messages reflecting their own personal thoughts on the life philosophies
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. &Mrs. Coretta Scott King, with themes
focusing on peace and nonviolence.
"This Message of Peace Contest inspires youth to use their educational
skills in critical thinking, creative writing and speaking delivery, similar
skills embraced by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at a very young age,"
said Superintendent Judy Forte. The students' messages, stated Superintendent
Forte, "also demonstrate their individual commitments to the principles of
peace, justice and nonviolence."
The 2014 winning messages unveiled on May 8, 2014 will remain on display in
the Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have A Dream" World Peace Rose Garden
for an entire year, in which the park visitor will have the opportunity to
view, admire and become inspired.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic
Site and Preservation District was established by Congress on October 10, 1980
to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit, inspiration, and education
of present and future generations the places where Martin Luther King, Jr. was
born, where he lived, worked, and worshipped, and where he is buried. It
consists of more than 30 acres (13 federally owned) near downtown Atlanta. It
includes 67 historic buildings, most built between 1890 and 1910.
