COEUR d'ALENE — Fifth graders are not too young to grasp the concept that kindness really does make the world a better place.

"You don't have to be famous or grown up to make a difference," Northwest Expedition Academy fifth grader Bryce Buskirk said Thursday morning. "Sometimes, all it takes is one small kind choice to start a chain that changes everything." 

Micah Linder, a Dalton Elementary fifth grader, said kindness is like hot cocoa on a winter day.

"It brings warmth to the heart and brings comfort and joy to the sad soul," he said. "It brings a soothing presence, often exceeding expectations in how it makes people feel."

Kindness can spark a positive reaction in others, he said.

"It spreads light in the dark," Micah said.

Bryce and Micah were two of about a dozen Coeur d'Alene School District fifth graders who read essays on stage in North Idaho College's Schuler Performing Arts Center as part of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations' 39th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Celebration.

This year's theme was "Kindness makes the world a better place."

"One of the most important lessons Martin Luther King Jr. taught us is that kindness is key," Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities fifth grader Finley Matheson said while sharing her essay. "Kindness can be many things: doing a good deed, taking care of your family, paying for someone's groceries or even saying a simple 'hi' to brighten someone's day.

"We don't have to be perfect," Finley continued. "What matters is that we try to be better each day. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'If you can't fly, run. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.'"

She said hate is like carrying a heavy backpack.

"It makes you tired and grumpy," she said. "Kindness is different. It is like a light that helps most people feel better."

Just about every seat in Schuler was filled with fifth graders, school staff and family members as attendees paid tribute to King on the day he would have turned 97. The federal holiday celebrating the life and accomplishments of the civil rights icon will be officially observed Monday.

The honored keynote speaker of the morning was Kitara Johnson-Jones, host of Come-Unity Solutions Magazine and Podcast, a platform dedicated to fostering positive change, celebrating diversity and amplifying underrepresented voices.

"Kindness is a choice you make to be nice when other people aren't," she said.

Johnson-Jones spoke of being left out of activities and of schoolmates making fun of her teeth when she was a girl.

"They would pick teams," she said. "I was always the last one standing."

Although her mother taught her and her 12 siblings to be kind to others, the lack of kindness shown to her began to diminish her own capacity for kindness.

"It came to the point I didn't want to go to school," she said. "They made fun of my hair, they made fun of my skin ... And no one stood up for me. No one said, 'Stop.' Not even my teacher. It came to a point where I felt so alone."

She asked if anyone in the room had felt alone. Several students and adults raised their hands.

King also had these experiences, Johnson-Jones said, and he decided to stand up.

One day at school, a new student arrived. That new student stood up for Johnson-Jones.

"It changed the trajectory of my life. It reminded me of Martin Luther King," she said. "Martin Luther King stood for so many things. His kindness showed up like courage: Courage to be kind when other people weren't, courage to be a voice for those who couldn't speak, courage to do something different. Dare to be different. Martin did that."

    Bryce Buskirk from Northwest Expedition Academy smiles as he receives applause Thursday after reading his essay about kindness at the Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Celebration.
  

    Several students raise their hands as Kitara Johnson-Jones, host of Come-Unity Solutions Magazine and Podcast, asks if anyone has ever felt alone. Johnson-Jones spoke Thursday as the honored guest of the 39th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Celebration.
  

    The Dalton Road Crew and Lake City High School Navy Blues perform Thursday at the 39th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Celebration.