Southern Arkansas University student Chinedu (Jay) Okeke of Nigeria will be the special young adult speaker at the 16th annual African-American History Celebration of Youth at 2:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.
The event will be held in the Grand Hall of the SAU Reynolds Center and will also feature 22 high school seniors and other youth talent.
Okeke, a Spanish major minoring in psychology, fluently speaks several languages and is part of the SAU honors program that recently returned from Cuba. The annual celebration is sponsored by the Bethlehem Baptist Church Youth Department, Albemarle Foundation, Columbia County Community Foundation, SAU Office of Multiculturalism & Diversity, and CSNS Fashions. Admission is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Bethlehem Youth Director Chris Gilliam at 870-299-0999.
At the event, high school seniors from throughout the county and other areas will be speaking briefly on “What Black History means to them,” “How it impacted their lives,” and “What person or persons (past or present) has impacted their lives the most.”
It’s been a community event that helps teen-agers get over their fear of public speaking as well as remembering their heritage.
This unique program has proclaimed itself as the largest African-American History program of its kind for youths in south Arkansas, with hundreds from the community attending.
The celebration started in 2005 at Bethlehem with only four senior speakers.
Rapid growth forced a move to the Columbia Baptist District Center two years later, and then to SAU’s Grand Hall in 2009, where it’s been for the past 12 years.
Thank you and may God bless each of you.
The event will also feature youth talent with performances by Recco Sargent, Morgan Holly and Alisha Green.
High school seniors still want to participate should contact youth director Chris Gilliam at 299-0999 as soon as possible. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.
From start to finish, the entire program will be conducted by youth, with many standing before a huge crowd for the first time in their lives.