WJZ's Black History Oratory Competition 2024: Hear the speeches
Dozens of students from across the state submitted their essays to WJZ's Black History Competition, and last week, 20 finalists read to a panel of judges and an audience of family and friends.
The annual competition invites Maryland students in grades 9 through 12 to write an original essay of 500 words based on a prompt provided to them.
This year, participants were asked to choose one quote from the three listed below and explain in detail what it means to them:
"Educate your sons and daughters, send them to school and show that besides the cartridge box, the ballot box, and the jury box, you have also the knowledge box." – Frederick Douglass
"I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism." – Oprah Winfrey
"None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody –a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns – bent down and helped us pick up our boots." – Thurgood Marshall
On Saturday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m., the winners will be announced on WJZ-TV, during WJZ's Black History Oratory Competition Special!
Watch the speeches below. To see a specific contestant's speech, find their name with the corresponding time stamp below.
Olivia Averitt (4:30)
Charan Bala (7:40)
Madeline Campbell (11:50)
Abby Chadwick (16:10)
Amelie Cook (19:55)
Jesse Fawole (24:50)
Bre'Anna Marie Harper (29:09)
Loreley Jimenez-Abreu (32:10)
Taniya Johnson (35:15)
Chloe Kang (38:30)
Grace Li (43:00)
Ella Lovelace (46:50)
Noelle Markos (50:55)
Horizon Niroula (53:39)
Chiemela Nwokoro (1:02:35)
Chidi Onwuanibe (1:07:10)
Alexis Robinson (1:11:25)
Elizabeth-Paris Russell-Ward (1:14:30)
Marquelia Sanderson (1:17:34)
Vivian Wang (1:21:50)