Tucson Region

34 black teens from 10 schools lauded for academic achievement

By Rhonda Bodfield

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.20.2008

Thirty-four black teens from 10 high schools in Southern Arizona were recognized for their academic achievements Saturday.

The recognition ceremony was started 40 years ago by the late Felix Goodwin, an advocate for minority education, who was frustrated that there was little recognition of the scholastic endeavors of black students, particularly boys.

Burney Starks, 57, a dropout prevention specialist who helped with the effort, recalled when he was in college, a talk show host made the assumption that he was attending college on an athletic scholarship.

Granted, that was a while ago, but the problem persists, he said. "The unfortunate reality is that a lot of young black males have been recognized for their athletic abilities, but less for their academic ones. And the worst part for kids of color is that they've bought into that."

Students had to have a grade point average of 3.0 to qualify for the luncheon, which was held at the University of Arizona's student union.

Christopher Davis, an 18-year-old Sahuaro High School senior with a 4.2 grade point average, said he has never felt other classmates denigrated his academic work ethic, although he admitted "it's foreign to a lot of people."

Davis, who is taking three advanced placement courses this year and took four last year, also plays in two orchestras and participates in school swimming and track programs.

His hard work has paid off — he received a $9,000 academic scholarship and plans to study violin performance at Arizona State University.

"The recognition definitely helps," he said. "When you're struggling to get straight A's and to do well in all your AP classes, it's good to know it pays off and it matters to some people."

The event was hosted by a chapter of the country's first and oldest black fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, whose members included civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr., Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, entertainer Duke Ellington and Olympian Jesse Owens.

The organization identified the honorees as:

Dashiel Albrecht-Fearonce, Tucson High Magnet School

Joseph Bass III, Tucson High Magnet School

Trevor Chandler, Tucson High Magnet School

Yavin Cranshaw, Cienega High School

Christopher Davis, Sahuaro High School

Jarrell Dent, Santa Rita High School

Garrett Edgerson, Tucson High Magnet School

Robert Grant, Palo Verde High Magnet School

Geneo Graves, Desert View High School

Gregory Hill, Tucson High Magnet School

Eric House, Tucson High Magnet School