Greenbelt, Maryland – After winning one of many $500 scholarships for the essay portion of the Student Racial Justice and Creative Arts Contest, Emmanuella Umoh, a high school student at College Park Academy in Riverdale, Maryland, told me there is a reason she chose to express her thoughts in written form.

“I wanted to try a new way of being a student advocate,” explained Umoh, whose essay was about Black misrepresentation in media and its connection to internalized racism. “I wanted to show young people…and people who look like me that they can be change-makers in our society. I wanted to bring awareness to how internalized racism impacts Black people.” 

On Saturday, June 15, Umoh and nine other high school students received educational scholarships from The Prince George’s County Memorial Lynching Project’s Student Racial Justice and Creative Arts Contest. Elected officials and some parents were present.  The ceremony was held at Greenbelt Community Center. The organization awarded finalists for producing work in three categories: visual arts, essay, and creative writing.

Maryland State Del. Ashanti Martinez, who gave about a two-minute speech, congratulated students for their dedication and commitment to the work of cultural memory and meaning-making. “Remembering history is so very important. It allows us to know where we are going,” said Martinez. “I am proud of you for taking the time to dedicate yourself to knowledge, to scholarship, and to being part of something bigger than yourselves.”

Emmett Jordan, mayor of Greenbelt, said the city was proud to host the event. He said the Prince George’s County Memorial Lynching Project is doing important work within Maryland. Since 2022, the event has been in Greenbelt, and Jordan has given a speech, often thanking students for their work. In an interview after the ceremony, Jordan said to the students “we are all walking in the footsteps of the past.” 

Not all students who won were present. All their projects spoke of social issues that are connected to chattel slavery. White enslavers of Prince George’s County, as The Intersection has reported, held thousands of enslaved Black people captive. Today, multiple museums preserve the history of Black people's courage, resistance, and resistance. Additionally, Greenbelt, a city built by the Roosevelt administration, was erected for white people. It was built during the great depression. It was a part of his New Deal package. Not only that, but it was constructed for unemployed and low-income white people. Though Black and white people worked alongside each other to build the city, they could not apply for residence. 

This year, the organization received 84 applications, an increase from previous years, according to Dr. Lula Beatty, a co-secretary at The Prince George’s County Memorial Lynching Project. Students from Frederick Douglass High School, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Laurel High School, College Park Academy, Charles Herbert Flowers High School, and Chesapeake Math & IT High School North applied to enter the contest.

“The program is gaining traction in the county,” said Beatty. 

Beatty said out of all Maryland’s coalitions, Prince George’s County is the only one that hosts a yearly contest for youth. She also commented that she’s proud of the students’ ongoing participation in the contest. Beatty said the art competition provides an avenue to encourage youth to use their creativity to speak out on social issues. 

Janelle Bassole, a Laurel High School student, wrote an essay, “A Practice Built Off The Back of Suffering.” Basool’s essay was inspired by the book Medical Apartheid, which examines the harsh medical treatment white medical doctors administered to Black people.  She placed first, winning $1000. In conducting research for the essay, Bassoole said she learned even more facts about how health disparities impact Black people and other people of color.

“I think health disparities are something that definitely needs to be fixed,” said Bassoole, who desires to work in the medical profession.  “We need to create more patient-physian trust, equity, and provide more support for (Black people). 

Here is the complete list of students who were awarded a scholarship:

Creative Writing

1st Place, Shana McFadden, Oh Innocent Emmett, Suitland High School

2nd Place, Marli Jones, The Pipeline, Frederick Douglass High School

3rd Place, Mikayla Hollis, The School to Prison Pipeline, Eleanor Roosevelt High School

 

Essay

1st Place, Janelle Bassole, A Practice Built Off the Back of Suffering, Laurel High School

2nd Place, Emanuella Umoh, The Power of Representation: Illuminating Paths to Racial Justice in Social Media, College Park Academy

3rd Place, Anike Akinfolarin, Environmental Racism in Communities of Color, Charles Herbert Flowers High School

 

Visual Arts

1st Place, Onyekachukwu Roland Akwara, Justice For Our People, Charles Herbert Flowers High School

2nd Place, Jaelynn Walker, Bars of Freedom, Chesapeake Math & IT High School North

3rd Place, Tyla Inyamah, Slave to Miseducation, Charles Herbert Flowers High School

Honorable Mention, Seanna Daye, BLM Memorial, Chesapeake Math & IT High School North

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