Evanston Youth Perform In Honor of MLK

At the Music Institute of Chicago, Y.O.U. members performed musical numbers celebrating Martin Luther King’s efforts to put an end to violence.  The “Diverse Evanston Walk United” focused on how the Evanston community can come together to put an end to the violence specifically in this city. 

Evanston’s Y.O.U. sponsored its fifth annual performance.  Y.O.U. is an organization that seeks to help disadvantaged youth by providing them with services that help them create a positive identity, according to their website. These services include “academic assistance, life skills education, social skill development, recreational and athletic activities, cultural and artistic activities, parental support, crisis intervention, mentoring, case management, and individual, group, and family counseling.”

Y.O.U. Volunteer Hussein Ali feels that sometimes children get treated differently because they’re from a less privileged background than others.  “We want to help out these kids who are otherwise at a disadvantage,” he said.

The performance brought Evanston youth together.  From 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., a variety of performers took the stage.  The performance was divided into three sections: the past, the present, and the future.  Each section commemorated the leaders of the past, present, and future respectively.

The presentation concluded with a peace pledge, in which Evanston residents vowed to put an end to violence in their community.  

Watch some of the performances by clicking the video on the right.