LELAND-JOHNSON
COMMON VISION ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY CONTEST FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN AND
JEWISH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
February
2013
DEAR HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL OR
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR:
The Leland-Johnson
Common Vision Program is conducting an essay contest for the purpose of
awarding a scholarship to two deserving students from the Junior and Senior
classes from several metro high schools for this academic year. The purpose of this contest is rooted in the
origins of the Leland-Johnson Common Vision Program (LJCV), now 22 years
old.
It is
designed to encourage high school seniors from the two LJCV target
groups—African American and Jewish—to review their family and personal histories
in order to discuss through the essay format, answers to specific questions
about those experiences. The contest is
open to:
Ø
African American high school students, whose families have experienced the
history of slavery, bigotry and discrimination in the United States, and…
Ø
Jewish high school students, whose families have experienced
anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination in the United States or abroad.
The topic for this
first essay contest is formulated in these two questions:
Describe the common struggles and challenges that African Americans
and Jews have faced that connect their historical experiences.
How do these connections impact you in society?
By
initiating contact through you and your office, it is our objective to “get the
word out” about this scholarship contest via your normal communication
channels—through digital media, in print, on air/broadcast, through social
media and “word of mouth.” In order to
help you and your leadership staff evaluate the components and criteria for
this scholarship contest, as well as the rationale for encouraging your
students to enter/participate, we have enclosed the following informational
documents:
Ø About the LJCV,
OUR HISTORY and OUR MISSION
Ø Contest rules and
materials necessary to apply for the LJCV Student Scholarship Essay Contest
Ø And a small poster for promoting this contest in your
building.
We
sincerely hope you will find the LJCV Student Scholarship Essay Contest
of interest and worth promoting for the purpose of helping us identify students
who might be engaged in participating in this unique and worthwhile
competition. Thank you in advance for
your support and cooperation.
Respectfully
yours,
MEMBERS OF THE LELAND-JOHNSON
COMMON VISION BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Dr. Josie Johnson, Arnold “Bill” Aberman, Martha Arradondo,
Dr. Wendy Bach, Alan Bensman, Sherrill Borkon, Dawn Campbell, Pamela Cosby,
Cheryl Chatman, Max Fallek, Laura Ferenci, Bill Lerman, Susan Lieberman,
Matthew Little, Andrew McGlory, Katie McWatt,* Rod Shilkrot, Lynelle Shire,
Marilyn Weisberg
ABOUT THE
LELAND-JOHNSON COMMON VISION PROGRAM
The
Leland-Johnson
Common Vision Program strives to prepare leaders by providing Jewish
and African American high school students with knowledge and understanding of
their forebears’ unending struggle against racism and anti-Semitism and other
forms of discrimination.
For
several years, an innovative year-long program and curriculum for an average of
20 students, African American and Jewish from metro high schools, focused on parallel
culture, history, social action and educational travel. The Leland-Johnson Common Vision Program
experience not only increased participating students’ knowledge base, it also
succeeded in rebuilding at this isolated level, the historic and once-effective
relationship between African Americans and Jews through these engaged high
school students—the future leaders of both communities.
In
addition to monthly lectures, speakers, interactive activities, field trips, and
community service projects during the school year, each Leland-Johnson Common Vision
Program class traveled annually to Washington, D.C. to further research
the history of the tenuous relationship between these two strong minority
communities, meet with Minnesota congressional representatives, and tour
historic sites and landmarks pertinent to this important forum topic.
The
Leland-Johnson
Common Vision Program has now evolved into what we hope will survive as
an ongoing annual college scholarship program, still focused on the origins of
the initial Leland-Johnson Common Vision Program and further strengthening,
through our talented youth, the relationship between these two wonderful
communities.
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