2010 BLACK SAGA COMPETITION PRESS RELEASE
Media Alert
March 8, 2010
Contact: Charles M. Christian
Coppin State University
Baltimore, MD 21216
cchristian@coppin.edu
410-951-3027
Maryland's Brightest Students Compete in 13th
Annual Black History Competition
What: More than
450 students, representing 130 elementary and middle schools, from around the
State will convene at Towson University to compete in the 13th
Annual Black Saga Competition. The
Competition, the brainchild of Dr. Charles Christian, professor at Coppin State
University and author of Black Saga: The African American Experience,
will be the host.
Baltimore
County will have the largest representation in the Competition, followed by
Charles, Howard, and Prince George's County. But participating students also will be arriving from Anne
Arundel, Hartford, Montgomery, Talbot counties and Baltimore City. School representatives from
Washington County and Caroline County Public Schools will be present to
evaluate the value of Black Saga for their schools.
Participating
as three-member teams, students will put their months of studying more than 800
questions, reviewing and learning the photographs and biographies of more than
100 notable people who have helped to shape the African American experience and
American history, learning more than a dozen important U.S. Supreme Court
cases, and understanding the words of wisdom of 75 important people in the
African American experience--from Frederick Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune,
Francis Ellen Watkins Harper, and Henry Highland Garnet to Muhammad Ali,
Malcolm X, Dick Gregory to Oprah Winfrey.
Specifically,
the Competition is about more than biographies, it about people, places,
events, and words of wisdom.
Students are challenged to be competitive in their knowledge of the African American experience.
When: Saturday, March 13,
2010, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Registration starts
at 8:00 a.m.
Elementary
Competition starts 9:00 a.m. in the morning with the Championship rounds
beginning about 11:00 am
Middle School
Competition starts in the afternoon at 2:00 p.m. with the Championship rounds
beginning about 3:30 pm
Where: Burdick
Gym and Student Union, Towson University
Baltimore County, MD
Background:
Preliminary rounds, starting at 9:00 am. in various rooms
throughout the Student Union, will determine the ten teams with the highest
scores. These ten teams will go
into the Championship rounds where they will compete to determine the teams
that know the most about the African American experience in the state of
Maryland.
For more than a decade, the State Black Saga Competition has
enjoyed the support of the Maryland Geographic Alliance at the University of
Maryland Baltimore County and many volunteers. The Competition is now supported by Coppin State University
where Dr. Christian, the founder, is a Distinguished Professor, and Towson
University who is the host.
In 2010, the Statewide Black Saga Competition has become one of
the most prestigious Competitions in the state because all participating schools have rigorous in-school Black
Saga Competition before they arrive at the State. In addition, Baltimore and Howard Counties have implemented
countywide Black Saga Competitions.
As such, students participating in the Statewide Black Saga Competition
are the best and brightest in schools and their respective counties.
Over the past three
years, Montgomery College has provided three scholarships to the middle school
team of Montgomery County Public Schools that places the highest among the Top
Ten teams in the Championship round.
If a middle school team of Montgomery County Public Schools ranks among
the Top Ten this year, it will mean that 12 two-year scholarships will have
been granted to middle school students in the Black Saga Competition. Similar relationships are being discussed
with county community colleges throughout the state.
Christian believes that
all children should know a more inclusive American history and this is his
contribution to helping it occur.
Students participating in the Competition come from almost every
background, and according to Dr. Christian, The Competition is for everybody
because the African American is a crucial part of American history. But why do so many parents want their
children to know the African American experience? Dr. Christian responded, This is new information for many
of them, it's enlightening and challenging, and it embraces teamwork—with
your team members, with Black Saga Club members, with your teachers, and with
mom and dad at home. Without
doubt, it is the community that is helping to teach these young people the
African American experience. I am
deeply indebted to these students, teachers, principals, and parents who have
dedicated so much time to learn the African American experience. In addition to the dedication of
teacher coordinators conducting weekly after school study session,
participating students work at home, talk over strategy on the phone, and even
get together with parents on Saturdays for study.
Because
so many parents and teachers have echoed how much they have learned about the
African American experience as a byproduct of their helping their students
become competitive, we created, several years ago, a special Black Saga
Competition for Adults that will run concurrently with the preliminary rounds
for students. For those parents
and teachers who are waiting to hear how their child performed in the
preliminary rounds, Dr. Christian created a competition just for them. More importantly, says Dr. Christian,
it encourages them (parents and teachers) to work even harder with their
student teams. In addition, their
hard work could pay off in great prizes, too.
The
Competition has gained high respect within the education community as one of
the learning activities that help with building strong character traits, study
skills, and strengthens community involvement. It, too, has become known for strengthening bonds between
parent and child in learning the African American experience. In addition to teamwork, cultural
awareness, academic excellence, learning life skills, and building community,
the key elements of the Black Saga Competition, we are pleased to know that
these and other key elements are contributing to school learning environments
and situations.
Coppin
State University, in Baltimore City, continues to provide essential support for
the Black Saga Competition. Coppin
State is the academic home of Dr. Charles Christian, Distinguished Professor
and the founder and director of the Competition and is the home of the Black
Saga Competition. Coppin State
University is a university on the move as its new leader, President Reginald
Avery, is guiding a new and innovative program that includes a very strong
urban mission. Visit the CSU
website, coppin.edu, and you will find out why Coppin is emerging as one of the
most attractive universities in Maryland.
The Competition was started in 1992.
2008 BLACK SAGA COMPETITION PRESS RELEASE
Awards Banquet for Winners of 2008 Maryland State Black Saga Competition Showcases Top Honorees
(Baltimore, MD) -- It was touted, “An Evening to Remember,” when the winners of the 2008 Maryland State Black Saga Competition beamed as they strolled to the front of the large room to accept their awards at a banquet specifically honoring them on Sunday, April 27, 2008, at the University of Maryland University College Marriott Inn and Conference Center in Adelphi, MD. More than 60 students who were winners of the Maryland State Black Saga Competition on March 15 at Towson University in Baltimore, MD proudly received their awards for being among the ten top elementary and middle school teams in the State of Maryland who know the most about the African-.American experience.
Students cheerfully joined their parents and teachers who helped them master the learning of almost a thousand questions and answers about the African-American experience, including people, places, events and words of wisdom. Many students studied a full year to be a part of this notably, rigorous Competition and to be invited to its most rewarding event.
According to Dr. Charles Christian, Distinguished Professor at Coppin State University in Baltimore, MD and acclaimed founder and host of the Black Saga Competition, “this awards banquet is our way of thanking the children for their hard work, dedication, and masterful teamwork. It’s a way of telling the winners that we care about what they learn because they will be our future leaders. It’s also our way of showing our appreciation to the teachers and parents who played such a significant role in helping their children learn this material.
“This is something they will cherish for the rest of their lives,” he said. “When you can make someone’s world a better place, and when you can keep Dr. King’s dream alive and move it closer toward reality, you can’t help but feel good inside. Further, to be surrounded by wonderful people who are working toward the same goals makes it all worthwhile.”
An important highlight of the evening occurred when Dr. Christian was acknowledged by Baltimore County schoolteacher Julia Hinton-Van Hook, as the recipient of the 2008 Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award from the National Education Association (NEA). The NEA is an organization made up of 3.2 million public school educators nationwide.
The Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award is a national honor presented to an individual whose activities in Black affairs have made a significant impact on education and on the achievements of equal opportunity.
In addition to this outstanding event of the evening, the elementary and middle school champions each received trophies, certificates and a $300 cash award. Teams winning in second and third place in their elementary and middle school competitions received cash prizes of $200 and $100, respectively. “These are some of the brightest students in our Maryland schools and they will soon be assets to college and university campuses throughout the country, said Dr. Christian. Maryland has a great opportunity to be a critical part of their early educational planning by helping them make choices early about attending college.
Montgomery College, one of the largest community colleges in Maryland and one of the best in the nation, stepped up to the plate by awarding college scholarships to three team members from A. Mario Loiederman Middle School in Montgomery County. The students are Caroline Bruel, Aliyah DeVille, and Kyle Louviere.
Teachers and teacher coordinators whose school have been in the Competition for the past three years were also honored. They received plaques for their dedication and hard work that allowed their respective teams of students to have competitive knowledge of the African-American experience.
The banquet was a festive celebration, with good food and great entertainment for more than 275 attendees. Dr. Lenneal Henderson, Distinguished Professor at the University of Baltimore in Baltimore City, was the Master of Ceremonies for this event. Three of Morgan State University’s most versatile young and upcoming entertainers performed and provided the audience the kind of motivation that support the Black Saga Competition. Anthony Tyler and Chynae Walker took attendees back in time by singing short versions of songs by famous African Americans such as Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Chuck Berry, Mahalia Jackson, Sammy Davis, Jr., Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and the Supremes. Samantha Master recited a soul-searching poem she wrote titled, “Black Saga.”
Enriching the audience with their exceptional upbeat music were 16 students from Paint Branch Elementary School in Prince George’s County, MD under the direction of Wentworth Richardson. The Tropical Breeze Steel Band Orchestra played melodies such as “The Beautiful Blue Danube” by Johann Strauss and “The Prayer” by Yolanda Adams and Donnie McClurkin.
The Black Saga Competition is among the most sought after competition by students in many schools throughout the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan areas and throughout Maryland. If offers elementary and middle school students, of all races, an opportunity to learn about a very important part of American history -- the African-American experience.