Special to the Signal

Four Lowndes County sixth graders who placed first and second in History Day competition held Friday, March 23 at Auburn University Montgomery are eligible to participate in National History Day competition on the campus of the University of Maryland in June.

Lowndes County Sixth Grade Gifted Education students participated in the event, said Paula Westmoreland, Lowndes County Gifted Education specialist.

“The four students who placed first and second are eligible to travel to the National History Day competition in June, so we will be fundraising to try to make this possible,” Westmoreland said.

She said, “This is the third year in a row that Lowndes County students have placed in this state-wide competition.”

According to Westmoreland, Jaela Lee of Hayneville Middle School won first place for her Junior Individual Performance “Mary Church Terrell: Revolutionary and Reformer.”

According to Bio.com, Terrell was born in Memphis, Tenn., the daughter of former slaves who were small business owners. She attended Oberlin College, was a suffragist, first president of the National Association of Colored Women and a charter member of the NAACP. She died in 1954.

Kyaisha McDonald of Hayneville Middle school and Keundra Rush Mya Smith, both of Lowndes Middle School, placed second for their Junior Group Performance “Women’s Rights: Revolution and Reform.”

Westmoreland said Robert Jamal Smith of Hayneville Middle received an honorable mention for his Junior Individual Exhibit “The Revolution, Reaction, and Reform of Jackie Robinson;” and Jermarius Rudolph of Lowndes Middle School received an honorable mention for his Junior Individual Performance “Conservation: The Revolutionary Ideas of Teddy Roosevelt.”