KERA invited North Texas area students, age 16-20, to participate in an oratorical contest: write and orally deliver a 400-word speech drawn from material from the documentary The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song.
TOPIC: The contest invited students to write and deliver an original speech answering the question: What lessons did you take away from this documentary, and what parallels do you see in present day movements for racial justice?
WINNER: Eleanor Hébert.
THE CONTEST’S INSPIRATION: On February 16-17, 2021, KERA TV aired the documentary The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song. The moving four-hour, two-part series from executive producer, host and writer, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.traces the 400-year-old story of the Black church in America. You can watch it at our PBS video portal now, with KERA Passport.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: The contest was open students age 16-20, attending any public school (ISD or charter), private school, home school, community college, junior college, college or university in North Texas.