Sept. 24, 2002

Contact: Ann K. Branden, Continuing Education, (785) 864-7889.

African-American high school reading contest offers $100 prizes

LAWRENCE -- Five African-American high school students could receive $100 awards during the 17th annual Black Leadership Symposium at the University of Kansas for their participation in the "Reading Gets You There" contest.

The winners will be selected from among African-American students from 30 to 40 Kansas and Kansas City area high schools who will attend the symposium Oct. 31 in the Kansas Union. Former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Delano Lewis will be the keynote speaker this year. Lewis is an alumnus of KU and of Sumner High School in Kansas City, Kan.

To be eligible for the contest, students must submit book reviews by Oct. 14 to Danielle Dempsey-Swopes, KU director of Equal Opportunity, who is coordinating the 2002 contest, KU Equal Opportunity Office, 313 Strong Hall, Lawrence ,KS 66045.

The 2001 winners and their counselors were:

 • Marisa Wilson Frails, Atchison High School, junior, for her review of "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"; sponsoring counselor: JoAnn Shugart.

 • Kaelyn Seymour, Wichita Northeast Magnet High School, senior, for her review of "The Souls of Black Folk," by W.E.B. DuBois; sponsoring counselor, Victoria A. Jackson.

 • Nicholas Herndon, Maize High School junior, for his review of "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman ," by Ernest J. Gaines; sponsoring counselor: Paula Boese.

Winners are selected on the basis of best written book reviews from each grade 9 to 12 and from an African-American male Leadership Academy, a program in school districts in the greater Kansas City area, Topeka and Wichita. Judges give 20 points for each of five categories: writing style and use of language, grammar and punctuation, depth and understanding of the book, critical thinking and analysis, and clarity and creativity.

"We selected the same books this year," Dempsey-Swopes said.

Freshmen and sophomore students may choose to read and review one of three books:

 • "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," by Douglass

 • "Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years," by Sarah and Elizabeth Delany with Amy Hill Hearth

 • "Not without Laughter," by Langston Hughes.

Junior and senior high school students may choose from four books:

 • "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," by Gaines

 • "Up from Slavery," by Booker T. Washington

 • "The Souls of Black Folk," by W.E.B. DuBois

 • "The Big Sea," by Langston Hughes.

Although the contest has been offered for several years as part of the symposium, this is only the third year that money prizes have been available, said Jacob Gordon, symposium director and executive director of KU's Center for Multicultural Leadership.

In addition to being enrolled in high school, symposium participants must have a 3.25 grade-point average in a pre-college curriculum and must demonstrate leadership potential. Or they may be enrolled in the African-American Male Leadership Academy, sponsored by the Village Foundation in Alexandria, Va. About 500 high school students are expected to attend this year's symposium.

"Our theme this year is 'Preparing African-American Youth for Global Leadership,'" Gordon said of the symposium.

The keynote speaker, Delano Lewis, is a former Kansan whose career includes service in the public and private sector including serving as president of National Public Radio and an ambassadorship. Lewis will address the symposium students in Woodruff Auditorium of the Kansas Union. Born in Arkansas City in 1938, his parents moved to the Kansas City area before he began to attend school.

In addition, the symposium includes an international career fair with representatives of KU's international programs as well as area businesses with international ties; workshops for students focused on postsecondary education and on international leadership; a talent show by the high school students; and tours of the campus for students registered by Oct. 17.

Information about registration and the fees is available online at KU Continuing Education or by calling Continuing Education, (785) 864-KUCE (5323) or toll-free (877) 404-KUCE, or sending e-mail to kuce@ku.edu.