Malcom X. Shabazz Junior Wins $10,000 In Saint Peter’s College’s Oratorical Contest

Jersey City, NJ – Malcolm X. Shabazz High School junior James Blamah-Sah (Newark, NJ) won $10,000 in cash on Saturday by winning the 3rd annual Saint Peter’s College Oratorical Contest sponsored by the Guarini Center for Governmental Affairs. He beat a field of 152 students from 85 area high schools who presented speeches entitled, “Identify the Greatest Challenge the United States Faces in the 21st Century.” Blamah-Sah’s speech detailing the dangers of gang violence drew highest honors in the finals judged by Newark Star-Ledger national political columnist John Farmer, Karol Corbin Walker, President of the New Jersey State Bar Association and Saint Peter’s College Provost Dr. Gene Cornacchia. He, like the other competitors, wrote and presented a memorized 10-minute speech. Each of the six finalists competed in three preliminary rounds, followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. Passaic High School sophomore Landon Woodson repeated as the second-place finisher and won $5,000 for his speech about popular culture. Immaculata High School junior Joe Hack (Berkeley Heights, NJ) won the $2,500 third-place prize with his speech identifying national security vs. civil liberties as America’s greatest challenge. Last year’s winner, Karen Pormento, a senior at St. Mary High School in Jersey City, finished fourth and won $1,000 after discussing security concerns. Meredith Kirsch, a Pompton Plains, NJ resident who is a junior at Pequannock High School was fifth. She won $500 for her speech on individual responsibility. Anne Marie Varrichio (Highland Park, NJ), a senior at Mount St. Mary Academy, captured sixth place and $500 after discussing spirituality.