Students win awards in Black History Month contest

Fox Chapel Area High School junior Swati Mylarappa with the third-place trophy she won as part of the Black History Month essay contest sponsored by Stop the Violence Pittsburgh.

Two Fox Chapel Area High School students placed in a Black History Month essay contest sponsored by Stop the Violence Pittsburgh. Fox Chapel Area High School junior Swati Mylarappa was awarded the overall third grand prize and won a trophy and a gift card, and 2024 early graduate Safiyyah Muhina won a gift card in the grades 11 and 12 category. The essay topics were “Who Were the Tuskegee Airmen,” “What was the National Negro Opera Company” and “What was the Freedom House Ambulance Service.” Students in grades 9-12 from school districts across Western Pennsylvania participated in the essay contest.

The contest was held in conjunction with the 2024 Student Black History Month Summit which was a free educational program for high school students held in February at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland. Twenty Fox Chapel Area High School students from the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council; the Black Student Union; and other interested students participated in the program. As part of the event, students learned about the Tuskegee Airmen of Western Pennsylvania, the National Negro Opera Company and the Freedom House Ambulance Service.

Stop the Violence Pittsburgh is a grass-roots community organization designed to curb youth violence, culturally educate members of the community, and promote inclusion and diversity.