Solomon Brown, an Amanda Elzy High School senior, made it to the finals in a national oratorical contest Saturday and will face two other finalists for the championship in Indianapolis today.
It is the first time in the 79-year history of the American Legion High School Oratory Scholarship Program than anyone from Mississippi has advanced past the quarterfinals, Brown said.
“It makes me happy. It makes me proud. I am representing the whole state of Mississippi, and that is in itself a humbling experience,” he said. “It is just amazing.”
“I have a great amount of gratitude for the people who helped me along the way. I thank them a million times over. I am glad that I have a good support system and love around all around me.”
Pulling for him at the competition are “eight or nine” members of the American Legion’s Thompson-Clemons Post 200 of Greenwood plus his parents, Curressia and Troy Brown, and five other family members.
Solomon Brown repeatedly thanked the post, church, family and friends and his class at Elzy High. They deserve “a big shout out,” he said.
Only nine of the 50 state champions made the quarterfinals in the speech contest about the U.S. Constitution: Brown, the Mississippi champ, and those from Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Missouri, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin.
The two other finalists today will represent Alaska and Washington state. The champion will receive an $18,000 college scholarship. The second and third runners-up receive $16,000 and $14,000 scholarships, respectively.
The nation’s largest veterans organization holds the competition to encourage young Americans to improve their communications skills and to study the U.S. Constitution. More than 6,000 high school students begin competition annually at the American Legion post-community level.
Brown is competing in the nationals for the third consecutive year. He already has won more than $12,000 in scholarships from local, post and district competitions.
His speech is titled “Compromise: The Foundation of Freedom — The Imperative of Citizenship.”
“I am passionate about what I am talking about,” he said. “When I do it, it is not a speech. This is something meaningful to the public.”
Sunday’s finals will be webcast live at 9 a.m. on www.legion.org.
•Contact Susan Montgomery at 581-7235 or smontgomery@gwcommonwealth.com.
