2001 Essay/Poetry Contest

Nicole Yates, Grade 6
Teacher: Ms. Sarah Kriehn
John Jacobs Middle School
Washington Unified District

First Place
Middle (Grades 6-8)

        The person whom I think best demonstrates leadership through service is my dad, Reginald Atlas Yates. He was born in a small town in South Carolina called Loris. He grew up experiencing segregation, racism, and discrimination. It was hard growing up in the south. There were places my dad couldn't go and things he couldn't do because of the color of his skin. His parents decided to move to Baltimore, Maryland, where they thought life would be better.

        Living in Baltimore was a little better than living in South Carolina, but not much. In my dad's new neighborhood, there was a restaurant that served African American people at the take-out window and reserved their dining area for white people only. At only seven years of age, my dad saw this as a terrible injustice. Several years later, he participated in peaceful marches and sit-ins. He decided to join some of his fellow student activists in planning, organizing, and conducting sit-ins and demonstrations showing that something had to be done about the way things were. One day at a meeting my dad's committee held, one of the members announced that Dr. Martin Luther King was leading a march on Washington and wanted people all over the nation to participate. On August 28, 1963, with his head held high, there was my dad marching for freedom.

        My life is better because my dad stood up for his beliefs and taught me to do the same.