Three Fredonia students, Ahou Marlene N’Guessan, Devin Johnson and Kordell Hammond, have been selected as Rosa Parks Scholarship recipients for their artistic submissions on social injustice, cultural perspective and activism.
The trio were honored at a March 7 ceremony, hosted by the Intercultural Center, in the Horizon Room.
Ms. N’Guessan, a senior Social Work major was chosen for the written story titled “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” a story inspired by Police Brutality. Mr. Johnson, a sophomore dual major in Video Production and Media Management, was selected for the poem, “Freeze-Thaw.” Mr. Hammond, a junior English major, was chosen for the open letter, “Take Your Knee.”
The Rosa Parks Scholarship Competition is open to any enrolled Fredonia student, excluding past recipients and any student who has received financial compensation for their past published works. Submissions are taken in either written or multimedia form, including poems, short stories, essays, short films, photography, performing arts, or sculptures. Winners are also based on originality and provocativeness.
The scholarship competition was created by Dr. Vivian Garcia in 1989 in an effort to help students speak up about the world around them. The award includes a monetary award. The scholarship is named after activist Rosa Parks. In 1955, Ms. Parks refused to stand up for a white man boarding a bus in Montgomery, Ala., and was arrested, contributing to the start of the Civil Rights movement in America.
