Pictured L-R: Marcus G. Merritt; 20th Chapter President Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity East St. Louis, Wilfert Lee; MESLCI Board President, Darrius Warren; 1st Runner Up (Senior) Cahokia High School, Kourtland Roberson; 2nd Runner-Up (Junior) SIU-E East St. Louis Charter High School, Autumn Carey; JOP Winner (Junior) Belleville East Township High School, Montreal Harper, Jr; participant (Freshman) East St. Louis Senior High School, Jevon Adams-Walker; representing Nike Black Employee and Carlos Dunlap-Beard; JOP Chief Judge. Reginald Riddle-Young, Program Founder & Committee Chairman not present for the photo.
Metro East St. Louis Community Initiative (MELCI) a 501c3 organization in conjunction with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity East St. Louis Chapter kicked off the Judge Ora Polk Oratorical Contest and Dr. Martin Luther King Honors over the weekend from the Greater New Hope Baptist Church 2240 Missouri Ave. East St. Louis where Rev. Derienza Johnson is pastor. Autumn Carey a junior attending Belleville East Township High School was announced the winner of the competition. She is the proud daughter of Augustus and Ashley Carey-Cotten.
Each of the contestants received a monetary award and a certificate for participation. The contest is named in honor of Polk, a native East St. Louisan, noted scholar, and advocate for education. Polk served the East St. Louis Public School District as a teacher and later as principal of Dunbar Elementary School for 30 years. Dunbar’s faculty, administration and students excelled under his leadership.
As a former jurist in St. Clair County, Polk’s footprints remain in East St Louis, and the partnership with the Fraternity and the Foundation provides a platform for students to make their voices heard.
The contest also allows high school students to express themselves on selected topics of interest within society that reflect the issues of today. Students spoke on the oratorical theme:
“The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Education and Solutions to Bridging the Gap Amongst Students.”
During the oratorical competition, the recognition of Pamela Meanes; General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer CareSTL and Larry McCulley, CEO Touchette Regional Hospital & Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award.