Watch the speeches from WJZ's 2026 Black History Oratory Competition

Twenty Maryland high school students showcased their writing and speech skills during WJZ's 2026 Black History Oratory Competition on Saturday, Feb. 21. 

Watch the full competition here.

This year, each student was asked to choose one of the following three quotations and describe what it means to them in 500 words:

• "In a composite Nation like ours, made up of almost every variety of the human family, there should be, as before the Law, no rich, no poor, no high, no low, no black, no white, but one country, one citizenship, equal rights, and a common destiny for all." - Frederick Douglass
• "I use the law as a tool to crank up this democracy and help to steer it in the direction of implementing its great constitutional freedoms that all men are created equal." - Juanita Jackson Mitchell
• "Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in." - Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The students with the highest-scoring essays were invited to perform their essays in front of judges and an audience of their family and friends.

The winners will be announced for the first time live during WJZ's Black History Oratory Competition Special on Saturday, Feb. 28.

The first-place winner will receive $1,000, the second-place winner will receive $500, and the third-place winner will get $250.