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.
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
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