MLKJ champions crowned

Dhane Brown Observer TEENage writer UWI

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Jade-Ashley Carberry of Belair High School and Sharie Brown of Campion College were last week awarded winners of the Martin Luther King Jr Essay Competition at the US Embassy in Kingston.

This year marks the sixth year of the competition. It is put on by the US embassy in conjunction with the TEENage Observer and seeks to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Dr King by allowing Jamaicans to investigate important aspects of his message and its relevance to Jamaica.

For this year's competition high school students across Jamaica were asked to write on a statement Dr King made in his book Stride Toward Freedom: the Montgomery Story, "Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they cannot communicate; they cannot communicate because they are separated."

Asked to consider how Jamaicans can break down barriers to work more closely together and to give examples of how misunderstandings and prejudice can lead to conflict, Carberry and Brown separated themselves from 80 contestants to cop the top awards.

Carberry, who won the 13-16 age group, told TEENage that she was told about the competition by her teacher and that she was motivated by the prize money she could receive. "I wanted the prize, I wanted to give them a chance to hear my essay," she quipped. Amazingly, she told TEENage that she heard about the competition two days before the deadline.

When quizzed on her reaction to her victory she said "I was really surprised. I didn't think I would even place".

Brown, winner of the 17-19 age group, said that as a history student, she was happy to get a chance to write about a great man such as Dr King. "Because it was Black History Month I felt it was good to write about someone like Dr King". The Campion High School sixth former was ecstatic that her hard work was recognised in the form of this award.

Both received $30,000 from the US Embassy, a full set of Jamaica Observer CXC Lecture Series study guides, Dr King's books and CD sets, as well as a one-year TEENage subscription. TEENage is the Observer's weekly magazine written by TEENs for TEENs.

Joanna Wilson of Hampton High School and Ainsworth Morris of Calabar High School placed second in the 13-16 and 17-19 categories respectively.

They took home $15,000 each courtesy of Jamaica Observer, as well as a full set of Jamaica Observer CXC Lecture Series study guides, Dr King's books and CD sets; and a one-year subscription to the TEENage magazine.

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