PICTURES: Prairie Village celebrates MLK’s legacy at ‘I Have A Dream (Vote)’ event
Johnson County wasted no time with events, either. Above, organizers of Prairie Village's 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration hold hands during a sing along. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.
Stand Up For Black Lives + Prairie Village, the Johnson County NAACP, the city’s diversity committee and other partners hosted the 3rd annual event on Saturday, this year with the theme “I Have A Dream (Vote).”
This year’s event focused on voting rights, a central theme of Martin Luther King Jr.’s advocacy during his lifetime.
Keynote speakers Bernard Franklin, the managing director of nonprofit Uncornered, as well as Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, centered their messages around voting rights, as did singers and other performers at the event.
The entire even was livestreamed by Village Presbyterian Church and can be watched now online.
A link to that livestream recording is embedded below:
Images from Prairie Village’s 3rd annual MLK event:
Rev. Dionne Boyice moves the crowd into greeting their neighbors at the event. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.Two crowd members greet one another at the “I Have A Dream (Vote)” event. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.A crowd member greets someone across the room. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.The crowd joined in on singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often referred to as the Black national anthem. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.George Williams, president of Stand Up for Black Lives + Prairie Village, shares his poem “Black Trauma, Black Triumph,” with the audience. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.The Kansas City Boys & Girls Choir performed at the event. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.The crowd intently watched the choir’s performance. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.Bukeka Blakemore sings “Hearts Desire” at the 2024 Prairie Village MLK celebration. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.Keynote speaker Bernard Franklin speaks on the importance of voting and his time spent with the King family at the “I Have A Dream (Vote)” event. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.Rev. Rachel Williams-Glenn, right, and her daughter Denver Glenn perform a skit about the importance of voting in all elections and, in particular, the importance of Black women voting. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.Democratic U.S Rep. Sharice Davids, who represents Johnson County, was the second keynote speaker, and she shared a virtual message with the crowd on Saturday. Davids did not attend due to the weather. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.The audience joined in on the hand holding during the sing along, too. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.
👋 Hi! I’m Juliana Garcia, and I cover Prairie Village and northeast Johnson County for the Johnson County Post.
I grew up in Roeland Park and graduated from Shawnee Mission North before going on to the University of Kansas, where I wrote for the University Daily Kansan and earned my bachelor’s degree in journalism. Prior to joining the Post in 2019, I worked as an intern at the Kansas City Business Journal.
