Meeting of the Minds: The 24th Annual Land Grant Black History Quizbowl

On Thursday, February 22nd, the young minds of Southern University engaged in the annual Black History Quiz Bowl in the Southern University Agriculture Center.
Featuring some of the brightest students that Southern University has to offer, this year’s Quiz Bowl was without a doubt one of the highlights of Black History Month on Southern University’s campus.
Speaking to Dr. Dawn Mellion Patin, she had a lot to say about the history of the event and what it means to her. “It has really morphed into something, 24 years later, that has exceeded all of our expectations,” Patin expressed.
With all of the legacy that goes into an event like this, individuals such as Dr. Patin, who were actually apart of the inaugural Quiz Bowl 24 years prior, seeing the next generation carry on the traditions of the past is perhaps one of the greatest aspects of putting such an event together every year.
Similarly, many of the students in attendance who participated in the event shared similar thoughts on the Bowl. When asked what she thought she would get out of the experience, sophomore Agriculture major, Khalien Howard, from Winnsboro, Louisiana said, “Basically just a learning experience. Just to learn [more] about black history basically.”
In many regards, the number of kids in attendance spoke to just how much the younger generation acknowledges the history that this month carries. In many ways, students such as Howard embody that which older members of the SU community hope to see in their youth: young minds thirsting for knowledge of their past in order to build a more stable future. In contrast to what many prominent media outlets would show you, the youth is well-aware of their roots and just how much they gain from the lessons of their past.
Similarly, Dr. Patin expressed such a thought on what she believed made this event all the more special saying, “One of the things that we have found that really happens with this that is most dynamic is that a lot of the youth that participates in the Quiz Bowl actually read the books.”
Books, which is perhaps one of the biggest points of emphasis of the event, also serve as the prize for the winners. The fact that the youth participating are actually taking these books home and reading is in itself a stellar point of accomplishment not only for older members of the Southern community, but for the entire Jaguar family as a whole.
With numerous teams competing in this competition, there were roughly fifty students in attendance hoping to improve their knowledge of black history and showcase what they already know to their peers and instructors alike. Some of the teams in attendance included the Freedom Riders, Tenacious Jaguars, and Da Panthers, all of which represented themselves, their teams, and their university to the best of their abilities in what was a wonderful culmination of black history, and hopefully a taste of what the future will hold for Southern University, as well as the African American community as a whole.