Hear Students Speak at Oratory Contest

The fifth annual James E. Bates Memorial Oratory Contest will be held on Tuesday, April 30, at the Riverside branch library, Bullocks Point Avenue.

The contest is sponsored by the East Providence High School Alumni Association. It start at 6 p.m. 

The contest is named for the longest serving principal at the high school. It gives juniors and seniors a chance to write a speech and deliver it as a formal oration before an audience.

This year, the students were asked to talk about Jackie Robinson’s remarks on the nature of freedom: “There’s not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.”

The students have been asked to place Robinson’s words “in historical context and provide a gloss on the quote.”

At the same time, the speakers were asked to “evaluate Robinson’s perspective and comment on what meaning it might have for present-day Americans.”

Keynote spoker for the event this year is Michaela Johnson, a 2006 graduate of East Providence High School and a 2010 graduate of Bridgewater State University. She is the co-host of The Rhode Show on WPRI 12.

Latin teacher Robert Perry will serve as the emcee. A panel of judges will adjudicate the contest. 

Visit the Alumni Association website at www.thetownie.net/alumni for more information.