Black History Month award winners from Discovery Middle School include Rachel Roberts, from left, Alivia Nguyen, Josiah Parker and Celeste Gallaspy. CONTRIBUTED

MADISON – During contests to observe Black History Month, Discovery Middle School students earned awards with their visual art and essays.  

On Redstone Arsenal, the U.S. Army Materiel Command promoted the Black History Month Art Contest. Rosie’s International Services Inc. sponsors the contest. 

Winners from Discovery in the Black History Month Art Contest were Alivia Nguyen, first place; Josiah Parker, second; Rachel Roberts, third; and Celeste Gallaspy, honorable mention.

Raquel Spiegel teaches art at Discovery.

“We strive to promote diversity and inclusion within the community, and one way we achieve this goal is through Ethnic Observance Programs,” Master Sergeant Edward L. Gaston said.

Nguyen, Parker, Roberts and Gallaspy were honored at the Black History Month Celebration at the Sparkman Center on Redstone Arsenal on Feb. 16.

“The portraits we received have further proven that children are putting forth efforts to explore innovative opportunities to express their place within our society,” Gaston said.

In addition, Discovery students participated in the Tuskegee Airmen Essay Contest. Students were challenged to write an essay that answered this question: “Why do you consider the Tuskegee Airmen are a very important part of history?”

Discovery students Maggie Brown, Marcus Saunders and Danielle Oliver won in the essay contest, which was open to all grades of public schools, along with home-school students. The Madison essayists were honored at the 15th annual Black History Enrichment and Enlightenment Festival at Trinity United Methodist Church in Huntsville on Feb. 11.

One of the essays from Discovery stated that the Tuskegee Airmen’s legacy “gives our youth the best role models to look up to in this field. The Red Tails are the perfect demonstration of not letting anyone tell you that you’re not able to live up to your dreams.”

Another essay submitted from Discovery stated, “The Jim Crow laws still zig-zagged the country like prison bars, but nevertheless the 996 pilots serving through World War II still found a way to thrive. The Tuskegee airmen proved to be one of the biggest milestones in African-American history.”