OKLAHOMA CITY, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017 – On Sunday, the Thunder honored Black History Month by recognizing five Oklahoma students who made personal connections with figures in black history, as part of the team’s ninth annual Black History Heroes Challenge, supported by Sprite.
The winners in each of the five age categories received personalized plaques and on-court recognition during Sunday’s Thunder vs. Pelicans game at Chesapeake Energy Arena, in addition to being awarded four tickets to the game, a Thunder team-autographed basketball and other prizes.
Each winning student demonstrated creativity in presenting the importance of a historical figure or a personal hero. The Thunder displayed the winning entries, along with other select submissions, on the concourse during Sunday’s game.
For the kindergarten/first-grade category, Addelynn Sugrue submitted an original drawing of the city bus on which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person. Sugrue, a first-grader, attends Sequoyah Elementary in Oklahoma City.
Paytyn Za’Miah Armstrong took home top honors in the second/third-grade division with her essay highlighting the bravery of Ruby Bridges, who was the first black child to attend an all-white school in Louisiana after school desegregation in the 1960s. Armstrong is in second grade at Britton Elementary in Oklahoma City.
The fourth/fifth-grade division winner hails from Grove School in Shawnee. Jayson Hair submitted an essay discussing Michael Jordan and the inspiration he brings to others. Hair discussed how Jordan inspires people to work hard and give back to their communities, as well as his ability to accept failure and never give up.
Cristina Lopez submitted an essay discussing a historical figure, Katherine Johnson, who was an African-American physicist and mathematician in the 1950s and 1960s. Johnson helped to break racial and gender stereotypes through her work with NASA’s aeronautics and space programs. Lopez is an eighth-grader at Mustang Middle School and won the middle school division.
Macie Nantze took home the high school division award with her original pencil sketch of Coretta Scott King and an essay depicting her life as a civil rights activist. King spoke out against social injustice and created a legacy of support for women’s and children’s rights, religious freedom and compassion for the homeless and poverty stricken. Nantze is a 10th-grade homeschool student in Oklahoma City.
The more thank 200 entries submitted by Oklahoma students included dioramas, sculptures, poems, drawings, essays and more.
ABOUT THE BLACK HISTORY HEROES CHALLENGE: Supported by Sprite, the Black History Heroes Challenge invites Oklahoma students to submit a poem, essay or visual arts piece to honor a black history hero, including historical figures or personal heroes. Winners receive prizes that include being recognized on-court at a Thunder home game.