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Essay Winners 2024 Grades 1-3 Topic: Ruby Bridges, the first black child to attend an all white school in New Orleans, LA, 1960. First Place Ryker Cook Cornerstone Elementary Grade 3, Mrs. Rubino Second Place Aayu Goudar Kean Elementary Grade 3, Mrs. Ratliff Third Place Liberty Lambert Parkview Elementar y Grade 3, Miss Rutt Grades 4-6 Topic: Linda Brown and the 1954 “Brown v. Board of Education” U.S. Supreme Court ruling desegregating schools. First Place Lucas Pindell Edgewood Middle School Grade 6, Mrs. Fenton Second Place Nadiya Erb Orrville Middle School Grade 5, Mrs. Booker Third Place Lauren Kubb Parkview Elementary Grade 4, Mrs. Corneliu s Grades 7-9 Topic: The 1954 “Brown v. Board of Education” U.S. Supreme Court decision and the role of Thurgood Marshall. First Place Maximilian Seifried St. Mary School Grade 7, Laura Marvin Second Place Karter Wayt Orrville Middle School Grade 8, Mrs. Schelcher Third Place Kai Marullo St. Mary School Grade 7, Mrs. Marvin Grades 10-12 Topic: The 1954 “Brown v. Board of Education” U.S. Supreme Court decision and the slow pace of integration. First Place Rhys Florence-Smith Wooster High School Grade 11, Mr. Klein Second Place Kaleb Wayt Orrville High School Grade 11, Dr. Dziczkowski Third Place Olivia Brown Waynedale High School Grade 11, Dr. Dziczkowski

Grades 1-3 Essay Prompts Grades 7-9 Essay Prompts 2026 Grades 4-6 Essay Prompts Grades 10-12 Essay Prompts MLK Celebration: Monday, January 19, 2026

Wooster/Orrville Youth Council #3870 President: Brooklyn Chelakadan VP 1: Clara Mariola VP 2: Laeticia Halene VP 3: Kameah Lyons Secretary: Kate Fearon Treasurer: Andrew James Advisor: Oliver Warren Appointed Co-Advisor: Brian Questel Our general assembly meeting is every last Tuesday of the month at 6pm at the Wayne County Public Library . (December 30th) All are welcome to join. (November 25th) Click the link below to read the latest edition The Wooster Blade

2027 Martin Luther King Jr. Events Essay Prompts For more information contact: Rev. Kevan Franklin docksf@aol.com Mady Noble madeleinenoble424@gmail.com 2026 2026 Essay Winners 2026 Celebration Gallery Essay Prompts

2026 Calendar March General Assembly Meeting: March 9th -5p at Community Action Wayne/Medina 905 Pittsburgh Ave. General Assembly Meeting: April 13th-5p at Community Action Wayne/Medina 905 Pittsburgh Ave. April May General Assembly Meeting: May 11th -5p at Community Action Wayne/Medina 905 Pittsburgh Ave. General Assembly Meeting: June 9th-5p at Community Action Wayne/Medina 905 Pittsburgh Ave. June July NATIONAL NAACP CONVENTION 2026 General Assembly Meeting: July 14th-5p at Community Action Wayne/Medina 905 Pittsburgh Ave. July 9-16 Chicago, IL National High School Football Hall of Fame’s Induction ceremony: July 11 - Brooke Park (Canton,OH) General Assembly Meeting: August 11th-5p at Community Action Wayne/Medina 905 Pittsburgh Ave. August Ohio conference NAACP September General Assembly Meeting: Sept. 8th-5p at Community Action Wayne/Medina 905 Pittsburgh Ave. General Assembly Meeting: Oct. 13th-5p at Community Action Wayne/Medina 905 Pittsburgh Ave. Wooster October November General Assembly Meeting: Nov. 10th-5p at Community Action Wayne/Medina 905 Pittsburgh Ave. General Assembly Meeting: Dec 8th-5p at Community Action Wayne/Medina 905 Pittsburgh Ave. December January 2026 General Assembly Meeting: January-12 at Community Action Wayne/Medina 905 Pittsburgh Ave. MLK Celebration: Details Coming Soon MLK Essay Prompts MLK Celebration Details February General Assembly Meeting: Feb 8 th -5p Community Action Wayne/Medina (905 Pittsburgh Ave.) Charles Follis Day- February 3rd Follis Facts House Bill-Feb 3-C.Follis National High School Football Hall of Fame’s Induction ceremony: July 11 - Brooke Park (Canton,OH)

2026 MLK GALLERY photos by Gary Friend

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Member's Event Saturday, May 17th 2025 A big thank you to all those who joined us in celebrations of NAACP Wooster/Orrville. Special Thank You State President Tom Roberts Justin Gilmore Westminster Presbyterian Church We look forward to the 2026 Member's Appreciation Event. Thank You

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday 2026 ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS Grades 1-3 Topic: In Jacqueline Woodson’s book ‘The Other Side,” two girls, one white, one black, become friends despite the fence separating them. Claire Audet Kean Elementary Third Grade - Mrs. Erika Ratliff Read Essay Kiyansh Gunikuntla Kean Elementary Third Grade - Mrs. Erika Ratliff Read Essay Preston Oyer Green Elementary Third Grade - Mr. Maibach Read Essay Grades 4-6 Topic: Was Dr. King’ decision to use thousands of black schoolchildren to protest in downtown Birmingham in 1963 too risky? Emmett Ramseyer Green Elementary School Grade 5-Mr. Maibach Read Essay Irelynn Cutlip Montessori School Wooster Grade 6 - Ms. Michelle Mann Read Essay Breylin Friend St. Mary School Grade 6-Miss McAllister Read Essay Grades 7-9 Topic: What was the effect across the nation of black school children facing fire hoses and police dogs in downtown Birmingham in 1963? Andrew Zvolensky Wooster High School Grade 8 - Mr. Michael Sexton Read Essay Kanishka Gunikuntla Edgewood Middle School Grade 7 - Ms. Courtney Robinson. Read Essay Emma Gatten Green Middle School Grade 8 - Mr. Maibach Read Essay Grades 10-12 Topic: Was Dr. King’s Birmingham Campaign the turning point in the Civil Rights Movement? Gunner Curtis Orrville High School Grade 11 - Dr. Dziczkowski Read Essay Kymber Bishop Rittman High School Grade 11 - Dr. Dziczkowski Read Essay Charlotte Cerniglia Waynedale High School Grade 11 - Dr. Dziczkowski Read Essay