High school students shine in MLK Oratorical Contest
{All students who competed in the 23rd annual MLK-SAL Oratorical Contest on the stage At Austin Finch Auditorium on Saturday, January 13. This year more than $27,000 in scholarships were given out to this group of well spoken students. Contributed photo}
Some voices trembled, some hands shook, and some eyes had to struggle to look up, but a group of high school juniors and seniors worked up tremendous courage and took aim at being the best during the 23rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Social Action Committee (MLK-SAC) Oratorical Contest.
Bishop Dr. George B. Jackson with Deborah Holt-Noel, who was mistress of ceremonies at the event and is a PBS executive director and host. Contributed photo
About 20 students from a wide range of high schools, from Thomasville and Lexington to as far away as Durham took their turn on the stage during an event emceed by PBS Anchor and Executive Producer Deborah Holt-Noel. Holt-Noel has been with PBS for more than 20 years, and currently is executive producer of the weekly public affairs series "Black Issues Forum” and the weekly travel series “North Carolina Weekend.”
Judges for this year’s contest were Dr. Sheila J. Gorham, head judge, Dr. Marquise Broadnax, Cameron Marsden, Ricsy Sanchez, and Martin Jackson.
Following the contest, the annual Beloved Community Awards were presented by Bishop Dr. George B. Jackson to Richard W. “Coach Flip” Flippin and City Councilor JacQuez Johnson. Flippin, who was born in Lexington and moved to Thomasville with his family when he was 10, has invested in Thomasville throughout his career and life, becoming a well-known and well-loved coach at Thomasville Middle and High Schools, and was praised for making it “his mission to instill in his (football) players the same values that had shaped him: hard work, integrity, resilience and above all, compassion. Johnson, the youngest African American elected to the city council and a respected activist and English teacher at Thomasville High School, was born in Winston Salem but moved to Thomasville at a young age and fell in love with the city. He has made it “his life purpose to be the change he wants to see in his community,”
Bishop Jackson and Coach Richard W. Flippin, one of the two recipients of the Beloved Community Award. Contributed photo
Bishop Jackson presenting the second Beloved Community award to City Councilor JacQuez Johnson. Contributed photo
Tiyana Johnson, a senior at Thomasville High School, was a contestant not only this year, but last year, and stands as an example of the growth that comes from such an endeavor. She was, she said, motivated by her teacher, JacQuez Johnson, and said participating “helped, because I am an introvert. I don’t speak very loudly, and I am shy. So I don’t do many events that involve talking in front of a lot of people. Participating in this event helped me learn to speak up and to have confidence in myself, because when I heard people in the crowd react, it made me want to keep going.”
And react the audience did.
Thomasville senior Tiyana Johnson got solid feedback from the audience during her speech. Elisabeth Strillacci, Davidson Local
This year’s topic was “Knowledge is never wisdom until it’s shared,” while last year, she said, was about poverty and racism, something she “took pride in talking about.” This year’s topic took a more thoughtful approach, but she lived up to the challenge, coming in 10th place and bringing the audience to cheers when she said “you can be an educated fool.”
She explained in her speech that a book can contain knowledge, but until you open the book and read it, it is not wisdom.
“We know it is wrong to text and drive,” she said. “But if you decide to text and drive anyway, and cause an accident, you now have the knowledge and the understanding. Now that you are more informed and aware, you can use that to avoid making the same mistake again. It’s like practicing basketball but never getting in the game. Wisdom is knowledge put into practice.”
The entire list of contestants and where they placed and the scholarships they received include:
1) Salina Jackson, Senior, Weddington High School 1 - $4500 (James & Octavia Jenkins Memorial Scholarship) & $250 Best Manuscript ( Timothy L. Jackson Memorial Scholarship)
2) Aymani Williams, Junior, Thomasville High School 2 - $3400 (Dr. William & Pearlena Jackson Memorial Scholarship)
3) Sophia A. Stevens, Junior, Southeast Guilford High School 3 - $3000 (Dr. Deboy & Marlene Beamon Scholarship)
4) Harlem Jones, Senior, North Rowan High School 4 - $2500 (Stanfield-Dalton Memorial Scholarship) & $200 Best Innovative Intro Video (Tillie Lee Blaning Richbourg Memorial Scholarship)
5) Taj Gabriel, Senior, Thomasville High School - $2000 (Rebevva Patterson/Neighborhoods Hands Memorial Scholarship
6) Angel Hannibal, Senior, Thomasville High School - $1500 (Bittle-Pankey Ebony Alpha Ebony Scholarship)
7) Karen-Solis Carranza, Senior, Hillside High School - $1400 (Dr. J. Ray Butler Memorial Scholarship)
8) Layla Steele, Junior, Thomasville High School - $1300 (Dr. W. E. Banks Memorial Scholarship) & $100 Most Poised (United Cornerstone University Scholarship)
9) Niani Carson, Junior, North West Guilford High School - $1200 (James Bloomfield Scholarship)
10) Tiyana Johnson, Senior, Thomasville High School - $1100 (Robert M. Patterson Memorial Scholarship)
11) Tiger McCray, Senior, Thomasville High School - $1000 (James H. Carter MUC Scholarship)
12) Scenia Renee Moses, Junior, Oak Grove High School - $800 (Skeen Family Scholarship)
13) Tanaja Wiinegan, Junior, Central Davidson High School - $750 (Zeta Phi Beta Scholarship)
14) Zahira Breeden, Senior, Thomasville High School - $500 (Chris & Jesteen Richbourg Scholarship)
15) Nobel Evans, Senior, Thomasville High School - $400 (Delta Sigma Theta Scholarship)
16) Thristian Lucas, Junior, East Davidson High School - $350 (George Burton Memorial Scholarship)
17) Julian Merrills, Senior, Kearns Academy - $300 (Omega Psi Phi Scholarship)
