The City of Bloomington has announced this year's winners of its annual Black History Essay Contest. You'll hear them over the next week on WGLT's Sound Ideas, or you can listen on-demand below.
High School
1st Place: Kh'Mara Bowie is a senior at Bloomington High School in District 87. Bowie takes inspiration from someone in the music world who cuts against common stereotypes.
2nd Place: Heaven'lee Anne Henderson-O'Brien,15, is a ninth grader at Normal West high school in Unit 5. Henderson-O'Brien tells a famous story, a horrible story of racial violence, and a story she believes must not be forgotten. Note: This reading includes graphic descriptions of violence and racial epithets.
Middle School
1st Place: Sarah Guo is a seventh grader at Evans Junior High School in Unit 5. Guo lifts up an early conservationist from undeserved obscurity.
2nd Place: Aaliyah Mohapatra is a seventh grader at Chiddix Junior High School in Unit 5. Mohapatra's essay recognizes a poet, a soldier, and an abolitionist author.
Elementary School
1st Place: Josllyn Brooks is a sixth grader at Bloomington Junior High School in District 87. In her essay, Brooks tells of a towering figure who broke barriers in sports and society.
2nd Place: Erioluwa Jegede is a fourth-grade student at Oakland Elementary School in District 87. Jegede honors a number of historical figures and the lessons they have for him.
3rd place winner: Elena Serrano, a sixth grader at BJHS, was not able to record her essay.
