OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The who’s who of Kansas politics and law enforcement honored the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Monday evening.
Kansas Governor Kelly and Kansas Attorney General Schmidt spoke at the 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy and Scholarship Awards Dinner at the Sheraton Overland Park.
"Dr. King showed us the power of an unshakable commitment to loving one another," Schmidt said.
It's something that Elissa Almaguer Smith knows all too well. The Olathe East High sophomore wrote an essay on Dr. King's legacy based on one of his quotes: "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."
"Loving is the only way that we're going to change things around here and there's still change that needs to happen," Almaguer Smith said.
Almaguer Smith's composition stood out to judges who awarded her, and a handful of others, a scholarship in King's name.
"The way to success has to go through the education route and the more we can do to support students furthering their education the better," Kelly said before Monday's event.
Leaders at the event spoke about the importance of making strides towards a more equal America.
"A lot of progress has to be made for those who have historically been disenfranchised and leveling the playing field, so everyone has an equal opportunity at the American dream," Jonathan Westbook, a commissioner on the KCK African American Affairs Commission, said.
Meanwhile 15-year-old Almaguer Smith, an aspiring record producer, is already looking at colleges and has this message:
"As humans, we have our issues and our problems and we let it spit out hate towards people when really we should be spitting out love," she said.
