28-02-2025
Event will honor Black History Month essay, poster contest winners
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Addressing differences served as the inspiration for Zayona Thomas' winning essay in The Tribune-Democrat's Black History Month contest.
The Greater Johnstown High School junior wrote about how races are treated differently and how she as a young Black woman has been perceived. She wrote about creating the hashtag #WeAreNotTheSame to illustrate how Black people are treated based on skin color.
A panel of judges chose Thomas' essay as the winner from more than 50 essay submissions. The essay contest was open to students in ninth through 12th grades.
Zayona Thomas
Zayona Thomas
'I came to the idea for my essay because in basketball I had an incident with a white female, and I faced a lot more consequences than she did,' Thomas said. 'I felt like my voice needed to be heard on it because it played a huge part in who I am today.'
Students were asked to 'create a social media hashtag for Black History Month. In 500 words, explain the ideas, events, adventures or activities that your hashtag will represent.'
'With my hashtag, I was trying to have a powerful statement without saying a lot of words,' Thomas said.
In her essay, she wrote that 'although we are not the same', she hopes 'one day we can be equal.'
'I think it's amazing that my voice can be heard and that other people can read my essay and get the same feeling,' Thomas said. 'Just because you feel a certain way sometimes doesn't mean that you always have to feel like that. We are equal and all together.'
A poster contest was offered for pupils in kindergarten through fourth grade, who were asked to depict an influential African American in performing arts.
Students in fifth through eighth grades were asked to design the cover of a magazine that showcases one of their favorite famous African American- or Black-owned/operated businesses.
This year, 193 posters were received.
Alexis Fisher spearheaded the contest in honor of her brother, Tribune- Democrat reporter Ron Fisher, who died in December 2019.
Through the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, the Ron Fisher African American History Educational Fund was established to create opportunities for local students to learn and experience Black history.
'For the essays, I saw that students picked an individual in history or the present day and told their life story and found a hashtag that applied to that specific person, or they picked a hashtag that was a theme about how they feel, and they tied a bunch of different stories into that,' Alexis Fisher said. 'There were so many stories about African Americans and the contributions that they've made to America that are unheard.'
She said she applauds the high school students for opening up and expressing themselves.
'I think the hashtag probably resonates a little bit more with students because of social media, so those who participated took the idea and ran with it,' Fisher said.
She complimented the middle school students who were asked depict African American- or Black-owned/operated businesses.
'It's inspiring to know that students look forward to this and get to put their artistic abilities on display and show us what they are interested in and thinking,' Fisher said. 'There were some really good posters this year, and for middle school students they really thought it through on creating a magazine cover.'
She said elementary schoolers' posters featured African Americans in the performing arts.
'Historically, for the younger students we get posters with people we typically learn about in school, but this year I shifted gears because I wanted them to learn and think about the performing arts,' Fisher said. 'We got some different names this year and that was nice.'
Adeya Fyock
Adeya Fyock
Adeya Fyock, a third-grade pupil at Greater Johnstown Elementary School, won first place in the elementary category.
Her poster depicted actress Cynthia Erivo in her performance as Harriet Tubman in the film 'Harriet.' It featured lyrics from the song, 'Stand Up.'
'This feels really good to win,' she said. 'It makes me feel that I can be good at doing things and be chosen as winner.'
Fyock said she chose Erivo for her poster because she's inspired by her.
'I like in the movie how her character helped people,' she said. 'My mom and I talked about what I could do and my mom said about the Harriet Tubman movie because it's all about being kind and helping people.'
Avery Smith
Avery Smith
Avery Smith, a sixth-grader at Forest Hills Elementary School, was named winner in the middle school contest.
Her poster depicted the cover of Time magazine featuring Alaffia, a Black-owned business that specializes in skin, body and hair care products.
'My family uses the soap at home, and we really like it,' Smith said. 'It's very encouraging because on the bottle of soap it has information on how they distribute bicycles and glasses, build schools and distribute school supplies, so I kind of based my poster off of that stuff.'
For her poster, she drew how she perceives the company and how it cultivates beauty, equality and empowerment.
'It's exciting to be chosen winner,' Smith said. 'It's pretty important to have this contest because Black people have a lot of history in the United States.'
To acknowledge the work by the students, a student art exhibition will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bottle Works, 411 Third Ave. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.
'This gives people a chance to come out and be with others within the community,' Fisher said. 'It's a positive, family-friendly event and is an opportunity to spotlight students.'
Contest essays and posters will be on display at Bottle Works. Contest winners will be announced and monetary prizes will be awarded.
Donna Baxter Porcher, co-owner of Studio 404 in the Hornerstown section of Johnstown, will serve as emcee.
The event will feature music from DJ Moe of 102 JAMZ and performances from Elena Tuinstra, Darlene Seals and Flood City Youth Fitness Academy's dance team.
Light refreshments will be provided.
Admission is $5. Proceeds will benefit the Ron Fisher African American History Educational Fund.
Fisher said she hopes students are encouraged to express their opinions and talk about important issues and experiences.
'I hope they take away the feeling of being able to participate and show us what they're thinking, whether that's in a poster or talking us through an essay,' she said.
'It gives them a voice.'
