Students' essays inspire, earn scholarship money
The Equal Justice Initiative, in partnership with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Remembrance Project, held a scholarship essay contest open to Mecklenburg public school students grades 9-12 in 2021-22, and awarded prizes of more than $6,000.
A second contest is planned for 2024-25; details will be posted here when available.
Students are asked to examine the history of a topic of racial injustice and to discuss its legacy today. They are encouraged to reflect on how the topic impacts their own lives and communities and to imagine solutions for a future free of such injustice.
Cherish Williams, then a 12th-grader at Merancas Middle College High School, earned first place and $2,000 in scholarship money in the first competition. Williams planned to attend the University of North Carolina at Pembroke as a communications and political science double major, with a concentration in journalism.
In her essay “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” Williams described driving around Charlotte shortly after moving here in 2017 and posing a question to her mother: “Why did the sidewalk just suddenly stop?” She then examined the impact of gentrification on local communities of color, looking at historic Brooklyn and the more recent effect in the Cherry community.
An EJI team reviewed the entries, and prizes were awarded in a ceremony June 7, 2022, at Julius L. Chambers High School.
Other 2021-22 winners
- Second prize went to Christina Eaton, 12th grade, Chambers High, for “Forget = Silence,” earning $1,500.
- Two students shared third place: Corey Allen, 11th grade, Chambers High, for “How to Make a Killing,” and Marcus Freeman, ninth grade, South Mecklenburg High, for “A Slice of History: Dr. Charles L. Sifford Golf Course.”
- Fourth prize went to Makayla Gathers, 12th grade, Myers Park High, for “Full Circle.” Gathers planned to attend Harvard University, then law school.
- Jordan Walker, 12th grade, South Mecklenburg High, for “The Tragedy of Eugenics,” and Anastee Glenn, ninth grade, Chambers High, for “To Gain Equality Against Segregation,” were recognized with honorable mentions. Walker planned to attend N.C. Central University.
The recognition evening
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Remembrance Project steering committee members Scott Gartlan and Elisa Chinn-Gary began the evening with a reflection on the value of this project for young people.
Each of the top five winners read their essays.
Cyan Blackwell, contest coordinator with EJI, shared – via Zoom from Montgomery, Alabama – the impact that EJI’s Community Remembrance Projects have had throughout the country.
Deborah Brown, a Chambers High English teacher who led the effort to involve students, received 25 copies of Bryan Stevenson’s book “Just Mercy” from EJI for her students.
Merancas Middle College High English teacher Kimberly Courtlandt announced each of the 17 CMS students who submitted essays, by name and essay title, and Chambers High Principal Erik Turner announced the winners. Each student also received a signed copy of “Just Mercy” and a plaque with their names and essay titles.
Photographer Alvin C. Jacobs Jr. made photographs of each student, and they were joined by family and guests at a reception afterward.
Learn more about racial injustice, and what happened to Joe McNeely and Willie McDaniel here in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, by exploring the rest of this website and EJI’s resources at eji.org/racial-justice.