Brock Bridge Elementary School fifth-grader Alfred Obisesan has earned the top spot in the 2024 Martin Luther King, Jr., Oratorical Contest sponsored by the Anne Arundel Alliance of Black School Educators.
Jasmine Barney, a second-grader at Meade Heights Elementary School, finished second and Paige Jones, a fifth-grader at Brooklyn Park Elementary School, was third.
A video of the orators delivering their speeches can be seen here.
Eleven schools across the county held their own oratorical contests since January, with the top students at each school advancing to the county competition. Students in prekindergarten through eighth grade were asked to select and perform a three- to five-minute published or original work in styles such as renowned orators like Dr. King, Abraham Lincoln, Amanda Gorman and others have modeled.
All county elementary and middle schools were invited to participate. In total, the contest boasted more than 60 participants from the following schools:
- Annapolis Middle School
- Brock Bridge Elementary School
- Brooklyn Park Elementary School
- Chesapeake Science Point Elementary School
- Georgetown East Elementary School
- Meade Heights Elementary
- South Shore Elementary School
- Tyler Heights Elementary School
- Waugh Chapel Elementary
- Monarch Global Academy
- West Meade Early Education Center
Alfred, Jasmine, and Paige have been invited to share their presentation at the 2024 AAABSE year-end banquet where they will be recognized alongside the AAABSE Essay Writing Contest winners as well as the AAABSE Teacher of the Year finalists and winner!