Speeches by Prince William Students Bring To Life an Icon's Passion and Compassion
By Christy Goodman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 14, 2007
They drop quotations from world leaders and authors -- Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Elie Wiesel -- and of course, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
They speak of humanity, injustice and neglect. They question historical monstrosities and admonish their elders for inaction. They work to persuade, move and inspire.
They are in the seventh grade.
Seth Opoku-Yeboah, 12, of Woodbridge, Emoni Matthews, 12, of Dale City and Cecile Diomi, 13, of Bristow are the three middle school finalists in the 17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Oratorical Contest.
The finals will be tomorrow at the Hylton Memorial Chapel in Woodbridge. It's part of a larger Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration hosted by the Prince William County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and its education and public service foundation that draws about 2,000 people each year.
Nineteen middle school students and 10 high school students in Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park reached the contest's semifinals, writing and reciting speeches based on the theme "We Said, 'Never Again!' . . . Hope for Those Unseen."
"The topic was to make them aware of what is going on in Africa . . . to understand how to compare and contrast how what is going on in Africa is so similar to what happened during the Holocaust," said Lillie Jessie, co-chairwoman on the celebration's organizing committee.
It's heavy stuff for a middle-schooler.
Seth knew about the Holocaust from his sixth-grade lessons, but he admittedly didn't know much about the conflict in Darfur, which got on the world's radar in 2003.
"Now, I'm like the expert on it," the Benton Middle School student said. "You understand how people are just suffering to live another day."
Practicing his seven-minute speech last week, Seth explained the similarities in Hitler's Final Solution and the mounting tensions between ethnic groups in western Sudan, sometimes in graphic detail. He was direct, passionate and used a simplicity that made those extraordinarily convoluted occurrences crystal clear to listeners. His voice rose and fell at just the right moments to add tension and drama.
"We made a promise after the Holocaust. The United Nations said that genocide would never happen again. Then in 2003, the Sudan conflict started in the Darfur region, but we are still allowing it to happen again. . . . It makes you wonder, why aren't we stopping genocide today after we made the promise?" he said, sitting in front of his family's piano with his hands folded in his lap.
He said he is concerned that because the conflict in Sudan is not directly affecting those who could help, no one cares or is taking action. Cecile could not agree more.
"It takes more than saying, 'Never again,' for words void of action are simply exercises in futility," said Cecile, of Marsteller Middle School. She looked down her nose as if to shame her invisible audience as she practiced for about the fifth time that day in an empty classroom after school.
Cecile's speech focuses on a history of Americans and the world turning their backs on injustice, losing sight of "our humanitarian obligation." The unconscionable acts of history are repeating, but the world is "bickering over the terminology that is used to describe what Darfur is facing," she said, with a swing of her hip and an indignant glare.
How could the United States that bonded after Sept. 11, 2001, leave people on rooftops surrounded by floodwaters almost four years later, she questioned. It all comes down to "people neglecting people," she said matter-of-factly.
"Everybody is part of God's creation. Everybody deserves help. We all are going to need it eventually in our lifetime, and for us to neglect anyone from anywhere is just horrible," Cecile said, shaking her head.
Emoni draws parallels between the Holocaust and current events in Africa by citing a lack of guidance, understanding and compassion.
"How can we say hope for those unseen when we do not help them have hope or believe there is hope because we can't see them?" the Godwin Middle School student asked, nearly making the walls shake with her emphasis on the word "we."
The world has a history of great leaders who brought international wrongs to light, she said, jabbing her index finger into the air in front of her. The situation in Darfur has primarily been ignored because the world lacks a powerful leader to get that message out, she said, furiously pacing the classroom floor.
"I think if people learn about it and they hear about it . . . if they understood it, then we can make a difference," Emoni said, getting to the heart of her argument.
All three students understand it could be their voice that motivates the masses tomorrow. Their speeches could bring the issues into the light as they follow the tradition of great orators before them on the day honoring one of the greatest.
After careful, quiet consideration, Seth said the contest and celebration would have moved King.
"It is the little people trying to make a difference, reciting speeches and all of this. He can feel happy that his work, like, what he left behind, is still going on as if he was here today," he said.
"And how did he start it? He started it through his voice, you know. Through just speaking up for what is right. And not being afraid of what people think of you, but knowing what is right and setting aside all other things," an excited and boisterous Cecile said.
"He was probably just writing how he feels and that became his speech and he wanted to express to everybody what he could. I think that is exactly what we are doing right now," Emoni said, nodding.
The emotionally charged topic was planned to energize the students, to get them to rise up to the challenge, said Jessie, who helped start the contest to showcase the talents of minority students. The contest is open to minority students in public schools in the county and in Manassas and Manassas Park.
"We have done what we wanted to do -- to somehow touch the consciousness of people. Not just to educate them but make them want to do something, and Dr. King always had that gift," said Jessie, principal of Vaughan Elementary School in Woodbridge.
Contestants will compete for a prize package of up to $1,400 in savings bonds. The students will give their speeches separately before the judges and an audience tomorrow, with their families in attendance.
"It feels great, and I am proud of him," said Nack Yeboah, Seth's father.
Yeboah, who's from Ghana, said he took his five children, ages 21 months to 12 years, to Africa for two months last summer. "We try to educate them so they have the idea of what happens in most parts of Africa," he said.
Cecile's relatives they would take up several rows of seats in the chapel to holler their support.
"I think she is following in the footsteps of her mom by being a person who is not afraid to step out and take a chance," said her uncle, Ted Coopwood, who has been raising Cecile since her mother died last year. "This is going to give her the opportunity to blossom even more into the person she is becoming. . . . This is another platform for her to just grow."
Facilia August said it is exciting to watch her daughter Emoni get "a sparkle in her" while she uses her love of writing and drama to gain a better understanding of a world situation.
"You see how serious they take it. It is a performance opportunity, a chance to get the word out, to show that your voice does mean something," August said.
"It speaks to the depth and knowledge of the kids selected for the final round. And it speaks to their intellect. They are children, and it speaks to the hope and beauty of our future leaders," said William Reid III, principal at Godwin and a judge in the competition's high school division.
The three high school finalists are Khadijatu Rahim, a senior at Woodbridge Senior; Tatianna Taylor, a junior at Forest Park Senior; and Victoria Nguyen, a senior at Gar-Field Senior.
Reid said the program is always "gripping, demonstrative and sincere."
"Success at this level simply breeds more success," he said.
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