Hundreds
of students competed in April in the Chicago Westside NAACP's Academic,
Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) competition held at
Whitney Young high school.
Saturday,
the winners from that event were announced and those who placed Gold in the
local competition are headed to the national one in Los Angeles July 20-24.
Created
by the late Chicago journalist Vernon Jarrett, ACT-SO provides an opportunity
for high school students of African heritage to display their skills and talents
in 26 different categories representing major categories of sciences,
humanities, performing arts, visual arts and entrepreneurship. The NAACP agreed
to put this program under its umbrella and to conduct a national competition
each year.
Carolyn
Hankins-Page, secretary of the Chicago Westside NAACP, said the chapter took
nine students to last year's national competition and brought back a gold medal
in playwright and a silver medal in photography. She is looking for even more
medals this year. Hankins-Page said the enrichment program that the chapter
hosts to prepare students for the local and national competitions offer youth a
positive outlet and image.
“We see
too many times the negative about our young Black youth and this is something
positive in the community,” she said of the enrichment program and the ACT-SO
competition.
Students
from public schools all over the city and south and west suburbs participate.
Following
is a list of this year's Chicago Westside NAACP ACT-SO winners. Students going
on to compete in nationals are indicated with a double asterisk.
Medicine
and Health
Olufolabi
Agyunloye, Silver Medal
Lane Tech
High School
Physics
Olumamide
Agunloye, Bronze Medal
Lane Tech
High School
Playwriting
Elon
Sloan, Silver Medal
Oak Park
River Forest High School
Alexa
Lisitza , Bronze Medal
Oak Park
River Forest High School
Poetry
Christian
Robinson, Silver Medal
Oak Park
River Forest High School
Tasha
Rice, Bronze
Gwendolyn
Brooks College Prep
Austin
Robinson, Bronze
Homewood
Flossmore High School
Dance
Noel
Huddleston, Bronze Medal
Homewood
/Flossmore High School
Dramatics
Destin
Sean Warner, Bronze Medal
Thornton
Township High School
Joy
Calhoun, Bronze Medal
CHIARTS
(Chicago School for the Arts)
Ryan
Lewis, Silver Medal
Gwendolyn
Brooks College Prep
Destiny
Thompson, Gold Medal**
Thornridge
High School
Music
Instrumental Classical
China
Gray, Bronze Medal
CHIARTS
(Chicago School for the Arts)
Justus
Richardson, Silver Medal
CHIARTS
(Chicago School for the Arts)
Breanna
Smith, Gold Medal**
Oak Park
River Forest High School
Music
Vocal Classical
John
Clay, Silver Medalist
Oak Park
River Forest High School
Music
Vocal Contemporary
John
Clay, Bronze Medalist
Kayla
Robertson, Gold Medalist**
Homewood
/Flossmore High School
Oratory
Destin
Sean Warner, Bronze Medal
Thornton
Township High School
Ashanta
Atkinson, Silver Medal
Thornridge
High School
Layla
West, Gold Medal**
St.
Ignatius College Prep
Drawing
Kelia N.
Louis, Silver Medal
CHIARTS
(Chicago School for the Arts)
Jela
McKinney, Gold Medal**
CHIARTS
(Chicago School for the Arts)
Filmmaking
Shaondell
Black, Gold Medal**
Corliss
High School
Painting
Anna
Ramirez, Silver Medal
Gwendolyn
Brooks College Prep
Photography
Malik
Wingard, Silver Medal
CHIARTS
(Chicago School for the Arts)
Kelia
Nikol Louis, Bronze Medal
CHIARTS
(Chicago School for the Arts)
Sculpture
Ebonee
Willkins, Gold Medal**
CHIARTS
(Chicago School for the Arts)
Entrepreneurship
Ryan
Lewis, Bronze
Gwendolyn
Brooks College Prep
