Amarillo MLK Event Hands Torch to Next Generation

Warren Coble lifted a small torch above his head and told a silent gym full of people that the movement doesn't stop with one generation.

The Potter County commissioner spoke Monday at Amarillo's annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at Palo Duro High School. Instead of just talking about King's legacy, he handed three real torches to youth mentors working in the community today.

The crowd of several hundred gave a standing ovation. One torch went to 101 Elite Men, another to R.J. SoleyJacks of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the Maverick Boys & Girls Club, and a third to Tasha Sims, founder of GOTCHA, a girls mentorship program.

Coble told the audience he was 11 when President Kennedy died and a young man when Dr. King was assassinated in 1968. Those moments taught him that ordinary people must pick up the work when leaders fall.

"The torch was passed not to another famous voice, but to everyday people who refused to let the movement die," he said. He spoke about Amarillo residents who quietly built opportunity through schools, churches, and neighborhoods long before he held office.

After the ceremony, Coble said carrying the torch means voting and real civic action. His parents faced job threats over how they voted, he explained, and voter apathy today dishonors those sacrifices.

Students from five Amarillo high schools participated in the event. A combined student choir performed alongside dancers from three schools, and the Amarillo Youth Symphony Orchestra played during the ceremony.

SoleyJacks said receiving the torch felt both affirming and sobering. As an educator and mentor, he knows the responsibility means showing up when nobody's clapping and staying present for hard conversations.

"When young people can walk beside someone who's already been down the road, it shortens the distance between where they are and who they can become," he said. He added that MLK Day belongs to everyone because the work of human dignity belongs to everyone.

Elizabeth Overstreet-Hampton, a Palo Duro graduate who served as mistress of ceremonies, said the event teaches children their value right now. History gives people both grounding and direction, she explained, reminding us that courage brought us this far.

The Ripple Effect

The torch ceremony created something rare: a tradition that asks for action instead of just reflection. Young people in the bleachers watched community leaders challenge them directly to continue work that matters.

By making the metaphor physical, Amarillo turned an annual memorial into a living transfer of responsibility. The mentors who received torches already serve youth daily, and their recognition tells the next generation that quiet, consistent work counts.

Coble put it simply in his closing remarks: "You are the fuel. You are the ones who keep it burning." Inside that gym, the message landed clearly. The torch has been carried, is being carried now, and waits for the hands of those watching.