ROANOKE RAPIDS — Andre Stewart, a young high school teacher, baseball coach and role model for his students, tries to live the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King every day.

Andre Stewart graduated from Roanoke Rapids High School. Three years ago, the 25-year-old returned to his alma mater as a teacher, teaching history and lessons about life.

He told his kids about the first time he encountered racism, which was when he moved to the South and was judged by the color of his skin.

"I try to give my students some type of understanding of what the real world is like. I want them to understand there's a different world outside, and I got to prepare myself for it," he says. "I want them them to remember the past, but I also want them to embrace the future."

Stewart says if students are going to change the world, they have to do it one day at a time.