Goal
Strengthen students’ reading, writing and public speaking skills while encouraging them to learn about and
support the dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Guidelines
- Open to K-12 students.
- One speech entry per grade-level category per school. Each school should establish a procedure to determine their entry for
each grade level category.
- Speeches must be written and delivered by the student speaker. Use of notes is optional.
- Speeches are timed and must not exceed four minutes.
- Students must use the theme: “What Are You Doing For Others?”
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Montgomery, Alabama, August 11, 1957.
- Student behavior should be attentive, courteous and supportive at all times.
- Speakers are judged using the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Speech Contest Judging Criteria.
Sign up
Virtual preliminaries
Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024
Sponsored by Milwaukee Public Schools
Grade-level category times (Only one entry per grade level category per school.)
| K-2 |
8:30 a.m. |
| 3-4 |
9:30 a.m. |
| 5-6 |
10:30 a.m. |
| 7-8 |
11:30 a.m. |
| 9-10 |
12:30 p.m. |
| 11-12 |
1:30 p.m. |
In-person finals
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024
Sponsored by We Energies
Top five speakers from each grade level category qualify for finals.
We Energies Public Service Building Auditorium
231 W. Michigan St., Milwaukee
2023 speech highlights
(3:29 min)
2022 speech highlights
(3:57 min)
2021 speech highlights
(3:08 min)
2020 speech highlights
(3:03 min)
2019 speech highlights
(4:04 min)
