Press Release

Afican-American History Inter-School Championship

(April 2, 2003)

In an exciting championship round hosted at Kigali Institute of Science, Technology and Management (KIST) on March 29, the Ecole Secondaire Islamique (ESSI) emerged victor of the African American inter-school Contest. The competition was organized by the U.S. Embassy, and students from four schools competed in the finals: St. André, APACOPE (Association des Parents pour la Contribution a la Promotion de l’Education), ESSI (Ecole Secondaire Scientifique Islamique) and Kigali International Academy. The contestants proved their in-depth knowledge of African American history in a tight race that resulted in a tie between St. André and ESSI. In a stunning tie-breaker round, the schools went head-to-head for fifteen minutes, a battle that kept the audience on the edge of their seat.

U.S. Ambassador Margaret K. McMillion presented awards to the winning schools. The four students from ESSI won a computer for their school; second place St. André took home a TV/VCR; third place APACOPE was presented with a radio/stereo; and in fourth place Kigali Academy won an Encyclopedia Africana. All students, including teams from the four schools that did not make it to the championship round, were given individual certificates of achievement and school bags filled with dictionaries, T-shirts, calculators, folders, notebooks and pens.

The annual competition, now in its fourth year, included students from St. André, Lycée Notre Dame De Citeaux, Lycée De Kigali, G.S. APE (Groupe Scolaire Association des Parents pour l’Education) Rugunga, Kigali International Academy, College APACOPE, Ecole Secondaire Scientifique Islamique (ESSI) and St. Mary’s Secondary School. The contest demanded a significant commitment from the thirty-two participants who have been studying in the American Cultural Center since early January. In addition to learning about African American role-models, the students were exposed to the Internet and multi-media, allowing them to acquire valuable computer skills.

The contest is designed to encourage secondary school students to learn and gain an appreciation of African American history. In a pause between rounds, students had a chance to demonstrate the knowledge they had acquired when the Master of Ceremony, Major Tony Curtis, asked who the students’ favorite African American was. Several students cited Martin Luther King for his non-violent solutions to segregation. One student dazzled the audience with his knowledge by naming W.E.B Dubois, the first African American to receive a Ph.D.

In her address to the participants, Ambassador McMillion congratulated and thanked all thirty-two participants for their dedication and tireless efforts in preparation of the contest. She outlined how the competition was “in the spirit of remembering the things we have in common: American history, African-American history, and African history.” The Ambassador also stated that by learning about the difficulties and successes of the past “we can all learn how to enrich and improve the present.”

In his remarks, the Honorable Eugene Munyakayanza, the State Secretary in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education, thanked the US Embassy for organizing the contest. Munyakayanza said the students would retain the lessons they had learned throughout the contest because Africa-American history has a useful dimension to their lives. He appreciated the tremendous efforts made by civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Jesse Jackson. The State Minister concluded by drawing a parallel between the struggle for human rights and freedom in Rwanda and African-American history.

Audience members included the vice-chancellor of Kigali Institute of Education (KIE), the Vice-Rector of KIST, the headmasters of participating schools, parents and students.