• ST. LOUIS, MO, May 8, 2013 – McKinley Classical Leadership Academy senior Taevosha Blackwell knows how to make a convincing argument.  In fact, she made such a powerful case in her presentation to an esteemed panel of judges at this year’s National Bar Association Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Justice Oral Advocacy Competition that she earned first place.  The competition was held in the mock courtroom at the law firm of Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard.   

     

    As the first place winner, Blackwell will now represent St. Louis in the Region VIII event to be held in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 18, 2013.  There she will compete with students from Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota for the honor of moving on to the National Competition scheduled for July 31, 2013, in Miami, Florida, during the National Bar Association’s annual convention. Students placing in the Regional and National competitions share in $25,000 in scholarship awards.

     

    Sponsored by the National Bar Association and supported by the National Bar Institute, the competition is an annual advocacy program–and one of the signature programs of the NBA–designed to motivate students of color to excel in education. The contest encourages high school juniors and seniors to express their views on a pre-selected topic, judges the students on their ability to communicate orally and in writing, while allowing them to sharpen their skills in public speaking. 

     

    The St. Louis competition is sponsored by the Mound City Bar Association and Sandberg Phoenix.  St. Louis area students were invited to submit an essay addressing the following issue:  Trayvon Martin was killed walking to his home on February 27, 2012 by George Zimmerman, a Florida neighborhood watchman in a gated community.  Some have justified Zimmerman’s actions based on the Florida Stand Your Ground Law.  If Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive would he advocate to repeal the Florida Stand Your Ground Law and other similar laws?  Please discuss why or why not.

     

    Three finalists were selected from all written essay entries and advanced to the Oral Advocacy Competition.  Joining Blackwell as a finalist were: Nathan Bolden, Jr., (Clyde C. Miller Career Academy) and James Guerin (McKinley Classical Leadership Academy).  Bolden earned second place in the Oral Advocacy Competition and will join Blackwell at the Regional event.

     

    Mavis T. Thompson, past president of the NBA, serves as the Chairperson for the St. Louis event.  This year’s judges for the Oral Advocacy Competition were the Honorable Donald McCullin (Retired, 22nd Judicial Circuit), Honorable Anne-Marie Clarke (Family Court Commissioner, 22nd Judicial Circuit) and Nicole Colbert-Botchway (President-Elect of the Mound City Bar Association).

     

    The Oral Advocacy Competition was videotaped and will air on SLPS-TV (cable channel 988) and is also available for viewing on the St. Louis Public School District website at www.slps.org by clicking on the SLPS-TV link.

     

    ###