Martin Luther King Jr. Day performance sells out at Booker High School

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe performed a medley to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy to a sold-out crowd at Booker High School on Jan. 21.

"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Celebrating His Legacy in Spoken Word and Song" included a reenactment of MLK's speeches by Reverend Charles McKenzie, singing performances by WBTT artists and students and a dance performance from Booker VPA students. 

The winner of the 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Essay contest winner, Riverview High School senior Christina Cianciola, also read her essay for the audience. Booker and the Sarasota Bar Association Diversity & Inclusion Committee presented the essay contest, which prompted students to write about Anne Frank and MLK's "Letters from a Birmingham Jail."

In her winning piece, Cianciola spoke about how her mother, an immigrant from Mexico, overcame a great deal of adversity so that her daughter would have better opportunities. Cianciola will attend Dartmouth College next fall.