To celebrate Black History Month, Maryland News station WJZ-TV hosted their Black History Oratory Competition for 2021 virtually and there were only three winners out of the 18 finalists. Third place was won by North Harford Senior, Taylor Mason. 

     To enter in the competition, contestants had to choose one quote out of three said by influential African American individuals. The different quotes were stated by Shirley Chisholm, Martin Luther King Jr, and Mary McLeod. Contestants had to describe what it meant to them in 600 words or less.  

     Mason has competed in Speech and Debate, so the 600-word count limit wasn’t difficult for her to achieve, “When I competed in Speech and Debate, I usually talk for 8-10 minutes.” She adds, “But when I had to film myself, it felt short […]. My WJZ video was about 3 minutes, way less than what I was used to. The video I submitted was also my second take: I knew if I kept going it would get too rehearsed, so I stopped while I was ahead.” 

     The quote from Chisholm was chosen by Mason. The quote states, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Chisholm was an American politician and educator who became the first African American woman to be elected to the United States Congress in 1968. She represented New York’s twelfth congressional district in which she served seven terms from 1969 to 1983. 

     Chisholm’s quote was chosen by Mason because, “Historically, tables have been the sites of the most influential successes and failures.” Mason says, “I connected this idea with my love for kids and then my next thought was about the kids’ table: the biggest exclusion of children ever.” She explains, “It sounds silly, but when you’ve been turned away from the grown-ups table enough times, you start to want to bring up your own folding chair and make them listen to you.” 

      Mason chose to participate in the contest because of the quotes. She says, “All of them were interesting and even though they were from Civil Rights-era leaders, they encompassed the Black Lives Matter and other racial injustice protests of today.” She adds, “2020 showed all of us how much work still needs to be done to reach racial equality. Each quote inspired me in a different way and all of them together motivated me to enter the contest.” 

      Prizes for the top three contestants varied. River Hill High junior, Nefertiti Griffin, won first place and got $700 from WJZ and a $2,000 scholarship gift from Toyota Financial Services. The second-place winner Teni Adedire, freshman at Eastern Technical High got $400 from WJZ and a $1,000 scholarship gift from Toyota Financial Services. Mason won $200 from WJZ and a $500 scholarship gift from Toyota Financial Services. 

     Mason was asked if she would change her speech in any way to win first or second place, she says, “I really wouldn’t change anything about my speech. I am very proud of it.” Mason adds, “I listened to the other competitors’ speeches and they were all amazing. Any of the contestants could have placed [third] and I am so grateful that the judges chose mine.”