Teams representing Abraham 587 International Masons and Creekside Middle School were the winners at the fifth annual Black History Brain Bowl conducted recently by the Daytona Beach Section of the National Council of Negro Women.

The event, which took place Feb. 27 at Daytona State College, was designed to encourage students to learn more about this country’s diverse history during Black History Month.

Matthew Brown, Hosea Crooms, Carl Richardson and Joseph Guarneri, representing the Masons, bested several teams to take first place. The team from New Smyrna Beach High School placed second.

All winners

The Creekside Middle team was comprised of Khalil Edwards, Alexis Glenn, Amanda Martin and Kevin Tierney. A team from the Rose Marie Bryon Center in Daytona Beach placed second in the same division.

"We are very pleased with this year’s event. They are all winners as far as we are concerned, " said Lola C. Young, committee chair.

"This was our biggest event, so far and it was very competitive. "It takes a lot to keep these kids motivated to study since the event is not a part of their school work," she added.

Started in 2006

Young said the competition is high on the local organization’s list of community service programs.

"We started it (in 2006) for two reasons. One was to encourage students to study and the other was because there was a dearth of Black History month programs in our community at the time," she said.

The Daytona Beach Section is part of a national non-profit organization founded in 1935 by Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. It is one of more than 250 community sections nationwide. The council’s national headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. Dr. Dorothy I. Height is the national president.