Whiz Kids: SRMS Black Saga Champions

Sixth graders Jasper Frazee, Ethan O’Malley and Phillip Schofield from Severn River Middle School recently defied the odds and won top honors in the state Black Saga competition after achieving a perfect score in the Championship Round. 

Two teams from Severn River Middle School participated in the 14th Annual Black Saga Competition at Towson University on March 19.  The second Severn River Middle School team included eighth grader Kate McCarrren and sixth graders Matt Barzal and Robin Roper. Thirty-eight middle schools and 57 teams participated.

This was the first year for Severn River Middle’s participation in the Black Saga Competition but two members of the winning team, Jasper Frazee and Ethan O’Malley, participated in the competition for Arnold Elementary and placed 5th and 2nd respectively in the elementary school Black Saga Competition the last two years.

The Black Saga Competition was created by Dr. Charles M. Christian, author of Black Saga: The African American Experience, a study of black history. The majority of the questions for the competition are based on this book. Dr. Christian is also a professor at Coppin State University. The Black Saga Competition seeks to inspire all students to learn a more inclusive American history.

The middle school Black Saga Competition is open to sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Students take a qualifying test to participate. After teams are selected from the best scores, a school competition is held, followed by a regional competition in some counties, then the state level competition.

This year students had to learn more than 1,000 questions related to important people, population statistics, dates and events related to African American history from the 1500s to present day.