Students break silence, fight injustice at Palmetto Youth Center's MLK essay contest

PALMETTO -- Standing tall at a podium Thursday evening, Tyrese Galloway brought the audience before him back to age 5.

"In school, you see all these public figures in all shapes and sizes -- but not one looks like you," the 16 year old said. "This can lead to the assumption that the whole world looks like this and you do not fit. You realize the majority of children around you look nothing like you. For years, you're stuck in silence, constantly reminded of how different you are."

A packed crowd inside the Palmetto Youth Center sat in silence as Galloway, a black State College of Florida Collegiate School junior, went on to speak about being reminded of how properly he speaks and the constant comparison to a "dark, cream-filled cookie."

"You find nothing wrong with this at first and wonder what the meaning was behind it," he said.

Galloway's speech, which touched on broader racial issues in the United States, was one of more than two dozen speeches delivered as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Essay &

Speech Contest, an annual competition for Manatee County students held by the Palmetto Youth Center, 501 17th St. W., Palmetto. A panel of judges from the PYC Board of Directors chose the winners.

The finalists, a collection of middle and high school students, were each asked to interpret one of the civil rights leader's most famous quotes: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

Topics brought up by the finalists included race, bullying, the abuse of the transgender community, depression and self-injury. Students also spoke about the importance of having a voice against injustices, just as the activist did before he was assassinated April 4, 1968.

After nearly two hours of speeches and about 10 minutes of deliberation, Galloway won the high school category.

Sully Malley, a seventh-grader at R. Dan Nolan Middle School, won the middle school category.

Both won $150, a new Dell laptop computer and printer.

"I'm overwhelmed right now," Galloway said. "I really didn't expect this to happen at all."

Galloway said he wanted people to learn something from his speech.

"Something that was like an untold truth," he said. "I want it to really hit home for some people and show them that there are some things that are still out there that people don't really know about. ... the problem is we stay silent about it."

Sully, who spoke about freedom, peace, happiness and equality, smiled when asked how he felt about winning. The 12 year old said he's had a good week so far.

"I was nervous leading up to tonight but I had the suspicion after I spoke that I would place," he said. "I've just always seem to do well in these kinds of environments."

Sully's father, Dennis Maley, said he was very proud. Father and son practiced in the hour before the competition.

"He's been doing these sort of things for a long time on his own and takes them very seriously and this was a subject that he's very passionate about," the 41-year-old said. "I couldn't be more proud of him."

Other high school students who won cash prizes: Destiny Daughterty, a Manatee School for the Arts freshman, second place; Paula Jean, a Bayshore High school senior, third place; and Jalynne Brown, a Manatee High School sophomore, honorable mention.

Middle school students who won cash prizes: Bethshida Jean, Sara Scott Harllee Middle School eighth-grader, second place; and Harmony Brown, Oasis Middle School eighth-grader, and Erika Blue, Buffalo Creek Middle School seventh-grader, third-place tie.

Organizer Patricia Johnson said the Palmetto Youth Center received 286 essays from middle and high school students throughout Manatee County.

Amaris Castillo, law enforcement/island reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7051. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisCastillo.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 11:52 PM with the headline "Students break silence, fight injustice at Palmetto Youth Center's MLK essay contest ."