HHOMA to honor student winners of Project on Racism Contest and 38th Annual Poster Competition virtually on Jan. 15 & 17

CHARLESTON, WV – The Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs (HHOMA) will host a virtual award ceremony to celebrate the student winners of the Project on Racism Contest and 38th Annual Poster Competition. The ceremony can be viewed Saturday, Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. on HHOMA’s Facebook page or YouTube channel or on Monday, Jan. 17 at 8:30 p.m. from WV Public Broadcasting, the West Virginia Channel, directly following the broadcast of the annual Ecumenical Service.

A program of the virtual ceremony can be accessed here.

“We are overjoyed to have had so many talented West Virginia students participate in this year’s creative contests,” said HHOMA Executive Director and Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission Chair Jill Upson. “This is one small way that we can learn with and from the children in our state and provide them with an opportunity to showcase their talents. We are especially excited to have offered each winner a gift card this year as reward for their incredible work.”

Poster Artwork

The Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission and the Beta Beta Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, presented the 38th annual Poster Competition.

West Virginia students from grades K-12 could enter the poster competition. The art must have focused on the following quote from Martin Luther King Jr.: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Poster award recipients are listed below:

Grade K-5
1st Place
Mason Toler
Road Branch Elementary, 2nd Grade
Mixed Media

Grade 6-8
1st Place
Jasmine Leigh Breedlove
Hamlin PK-8 School, 7th Grade
Acrylic Media

1st Place
Alana Garcia
Park Middle School, 8th Grade
Mixed Media

1st Place
Maya Panta
Park Middle School, 8th Grade
Mixed Media

2nd Place
Jackson Schroder
Park Middle School, 8th Grade
Mixed Media

2nd Place
Alex Bieri
Park Middle School, 7th Grade
Mixed Media

2nd Place
Addison Cox
Park Middle School, 8th Grade
Mixed Media

3rd Place
Bria Donatelli
Park Middle School, 8th Grade
Mixed Media

3rd Place
Ava Ford
Park Middle School, 7th Grade
Mixed Media

3rd Place
Brianna N. Holley
Hamlin PK-8 School, 7th Grade
Acrylic Media

Grade 9-12
1st Place
Alayna H. Garst
Williamstown High School, 10th Grade
Mixed Media

1st Place
Angel J. Todd
South Charleston High School, 11th Grade

1st Place
Erica O. Watkins
Lincoln County High School, 12th Grade
Acrylic Media

2nd Place
Kylie Robin Browning
Lincoln County High School, 9th Grade
Chalk & Acrylic Media

2nd Place
Zyan J. Faulkner
South Charleston High School, 12th Grade

3rd Place
Elizabeth F. Williams
Independence High School, 10th Grade

Essays | Film

The Project on Racism Contest was presented by the Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission and the YWCA Wheeling. Entries were accepted for essays and five-minute films and was open to any student from grades 1-12 attending public, private, parochial, or home school in West Virginia. Group and class entries were also accepted.

All entries must have focused on the following quote from Martin Luther King Jr.: “The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.”

Award recipients for each category are listed below:

Essay Award Recipients:
Grade 1-5
1st Place
Makenna Murray
West Liberty Elementary School, 4th Grade

2nd Place
Olivia Diehl
Bethlehem Elementary School, 4th Grade

3rd Place
Kole Cunningham
Bethlehem Elementary School, 5th Grade

Grade 6-8
1st Place
Sydney Burke
Wheeling Country Day School, 8th Grade

2nd Place
Anna Contraguerro
Wheeling Country Day School, 8th Grade

3rd Place
Camdyn Harris
West Side Middle School, 8th Grade

Grade 9-12
1st Place
Luke Snuffer
Mount Hope Christian Academy, 10th Grade

2nd Place
Caroline Ringwald
Woodrow Wilson High School, 10th Grade

3rd Place
Eden Miller
Mount Hope Christian Academy, 11th Grade

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Film Award Recipients:
Grade 5-8
1st Place
Thomas Browning
Beckley Stratton Middle School, 8th Grade

2nd Place
Lily Tennant
West Liberty Elementary School, 5th Grade

3rd Place
Wheeling Country Day School

Grade 9-12
1st Place
Wheeling Park High School TV & Radio Department

2nd Place
Greenbrier East High School Advanced Theater Class