The Cherry Hill African American Civic Association is accepting submissions through Monday, Jan. 6 for its annual Reverend Ivan George Essay Video Poster Contest.
To compete, township K-12 students submit an essay, poster or video on Black Olympians and Paralympians. Past topics have included African American inventors, African Americans in S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) and African Americans in health care.
This year marks the 11th essay contest. It is named for George, a long-time member of the civic association who originally proposed the competition. He died in 2020.
“We’ve had well over 100 entries each year,” said Cathleen Jenkins, financial secretary for the association.
The winners will be announced at a board of education meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 25, in conjunction with February as Black History Month. Both contest winners and other entrants will be highlighted at next summer’s Juneteenth parade and festival at Croft Farms.
Jenkins noted that through the years, the essay contest has given students an opportunity to learn more about Black history, both locally and in the broader community. For last year’s theme of African Americans in the community, she found herself and a friend being interviewed by her grandchildren, while other students opted to interview the superintendent of schools.
The contest has proved to be an educational experience for all, including Jenkins and the parents of essay writers.
“If you don’t know your history, and I don’t mean as African Americans, I mean as Americans, if we don’t known our history, we may repeat those things,” Jenkins noted. “Sometimes I see people who make blunders. Let’s say they don’t know a derogatory term, because they don’t have anybody from their era to say, ‘Don’t call them that.’
“Once they learn our history,” she added, “they’re more sensitive to what happened, and you appreciate how far you’ve come, and we appreciate the struggle. We see the accomplishments at the end, but we didn’t know how many people passed over, how many people died, how many people weren’t given their proper due.”
The essay contest is in partnership with the Cherry Hill library, where judges will review essays later this month. To become a judge, reach out to Jenkins at cathy.jenkins@chaaca.org. To learn more about the contest, visit https://chaaca.org/ova_sev/chaaca-essay-contest/.
