Living the Dream, inc. holds scholarship banquet at Ramada

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - To honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Topeka non-profit is continuing its tradition of presenting graduating high schoolers with scholarships and community awards.

Students of Topeka Public Schools, along with leaders in the community, came out to the Ramada Saturday night for an awards banquet honoring the legacy of MLK.

The sold-out dinner featured speeches from Topeka Mayor Mike Padilla, and a keynote speech from Rev. Markel Hutchins from Atlanta.

High School seniors were also presented scholarships of at least $1,000 and recognized for their community service.

Pastor Carl Frazier of New Hope and Love Community Church says this banquet is a way to let students to know the city of Topeka supports them.

“This is an opportunity to stimulate kids and also encourage kids to take their life to the next level. Whether it’s college or technical school,” Pastor Frazier said.

Pastor Frazier says a lot of the issues Dr. King faced in his lifetime are still very relevant today.

*Some of the things that we’re still fighting for right now. Like voting, housing, payday loan industry charging people about 400 percent interest. It’s a lot of things we’re still fighting for,” Frazier said.

He believes there is only one way to keep Dr. King’s dream alive.

“To keep the dream alive, we got to keep on fighting,” he said.

The week-long celebration of Dr. King’s life will continue tomorrow with a worship service at the New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

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