On Friday, Jan. 6, fourth- and fifth-grade students representing 24 Houston ISD elementary schools will compete at Thompson Elementary to earn one of 12 finalist positions during the semifinal round of the 21st Annual Gardere MLK Jr. Oratory Competition. Students will present original speeches, not to exceed five minutes, addressing the topic: “If Dr. King were alive today, what would he say about Muhammad Ali’s contribution to society?”

More than 230 students participated in the in-school competitions held last fall, where one student from each school was selected to advance to the semifinal round. The 12 finalists chosen at the semifinal round will advance to the final competition to be held Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church of Christ. Criteria for judging include delivery, stage presence, and content interpretation and memorization at all three levels of the competition.

In celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy, the competition is designed to highlight the cultural diversity of the community while recognizing and encouraging the writing and public speaking skills of elementary school students. The event is free and open to the public.

Be a part of the conversation online with #GardereMLK. For more details about the competition, click here.

WHERE & WHEN

Friday, Jan. 6, 2017

9– 11 a.m.

Thompson Elementary School

6121 Tierwester St.

Houston, TX 77021

ABOUT GARDERE WYNNE SEWELL LLP

Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, an Am Law 200 firm founded in 1909 and one of the Southwest's largest full-service law firms, has offices in Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston and Mexico City. Gardere provides legal services to private and public companies and individuals in the areas of aviation, banking and finance, chemical and refining, corporate, energy, environmental, financial restructuring and reorganization, government affairs, hospitality, insurance, intellectual property, international, labor and employment, litigation, manufacturing, maritime, private equity, real estate, retail, tax, technology law and venture capital.

Follow Gardere on Twitter at @garderelaw