It didn’t take more than a moment for Aliyah Jordan to know what she wanted to say. The question was how to say it, and her answer won first place out of 38 entries in Tri-Town Against Racism’s Black History Month Creative Expression Contest.
Tri-Town Against Racism asked Grades 7-12 Tri-Town students for forward thinking “Beyond Martin and Rosa,” and the 15-year-old Tabor Academy sophomore from Atlanta went backward instead to the story of Claudette Colvin, Rosa Parks’ unheralded predecessor, by writing a poem she titled “Heroes Unsung.”
Like the dimmest star in the galaxy,
shadowed by the most blinding of them all,
both with the same success,
but one seems more small.
Like Claudette who first refused to sit in the back,
the knowledge of this many people seem to lack.
The dark-skinned teen with a soul in her womb,
was told that she was too black.
To lead a movement.
Rosa followed in her footsteps,
and sat right in the front.
Fair-skinned and well respected,
she had to be the one.
To lead the movement.
Division in the world,
the black vs. the white,
dissension in our own communities,
the dark-skinned against the light.
Why must we classify ourselves,
based on hue and hair?
We’re all human beings,
deserving of what’s equal and fair.
Heroes.
“You said 1,000 words in a few sentences,” recalled Jordan of her brother Jorian’s reaction after watching the video of the reading that Aliyah had submitted.
With stunning eloquence befitting a perspective of someone many years her senior, Jordan took a courageous step by looking inside the Civil Rights Movement. Her authentic response resounded with Tri-Town Against Racism when winners were decided on February 28.
“The judges were completed floored by both her poem and her reciting of it. She perfectly embodied the theme of our contest,” said Alison Noyce, Tri-Town Against Racism vice-president.
Colvin’s obscured place in history was daunting to Jordan, who, ever since reading about the pregnant teenager and her determination not to be unseated preceded Parks’ famous act by nine months, was impressed by the former’s fearlessness. “She was the first person I thought about,” said Jordan.
Despite admittedly being plugged into Tabor’s world and not being aware of the protests that transpired last year in the Tri-Town, or Old Rochester Regional School District’s subsequent adoption of an anti-racism resolution, policy, and subcommittee, Jordan’s mindset is unconsciously synched with that of the local area and especially the sponsoring organization that encourages people to “start where you are.”
One of the leaders of Tabor Academy’s Black Student Union, Jordan will return to campus later this month for the first time since the pandemic, having studied remotely since the initial closure of the Marion-based prep school in March 2020.
“I don’t think there’s ever going to be a hard solution, but progress comes with education,” said Jordan, adding it is important to keep “learning how other people see the world and how things affect them.”
Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School student Noah Sullivan took second place with a video presentation celebrating Black History month featuring blockbuster movies “Black Panther” and “Spiderman – Into the Spider-Verse.”
ORR student Autumn Tilly took third place with a digital drawing called “Pushing Forward,” her illustration a brilliant use of emerging shade as a foot belonging to a person of color steps toward light.
Cash awards went to first place in the amount of $200, second place $100, and third place $50. Contest judges were Tangi Thomas, the president of Tri-Town Against Racism, and area residents Darrin Garcia, Jean DaSilva, and Janis Johnson.
ORR student Alia Cusolito, who submitted a painting of late activist Audre Lorde, Old Colony student James Pierson with a drawing of late activist Malcolm X, and ORR Junior High student Sophia Cruz with a poster melding several influences, all received honorable mentions for their work.
Jordan’s interest in poetry is only recent.
“It really started last year after the Poetry Out Loud contest,” she said of Tabor’s event that enters every freshman. Jordan won second place among freshmen. The challenge was to write five poems and put them into a book. Other than that experience, she said she had never before submitted a poem for a contest.
“I have taken a liking to journalism and anchoring, and also poetry, obviously. I think writing is kind of my passion,” said Jordan. “Being a lyricist is something I enjoy.”
She used to play clarinet and wants to learn how to play piano. She participates in chorus and acapella groups.
“I’m really into the drama and musical,” said Jordan, whose other school activities have included soccer and softball in 2019-20, and this year she wants to add tennis. She’s a big fan of two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka, who emerged as the sport’s spokesperson against racially motivated violence.
The what-now aspect of Tri-Town Against Racism’s educational effort is daunting as it asks young people to formulate thoughts and express them publicly. While Jordan, at 15, has not plotted her career, “I’m just trying to find my passion and what I love to do,” she is participating as she is compelled.
Tabor’s BSU only started last year and includes monthly debriefings on “what’s going on in the world … we’re just starting some of those hard conversations on campus,” said Jordan, whose outlook is “just bringing the world together instead of dividing us more.”
Tri-Town Against Racism Creative Expression Contest
By Mick Colageo