Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819
For immediate release — Jan. 28, 2014
(DALLAS) — No mind was left behind during the Dallas County Community College District’s 2014 African American Male Academic Bowl — aptly titled “Aiming for the Stars.” In this elementary/middle school “battle of the brains,” 24 teams competed in an event that is a cross between the academic bowls of 40 years ago and today’s popular “Jeopardy” show. Students from schools across the Dallas/Fort Worth area (and even Austin!) participated in the bowl, which celebrated its 5th anniversary; the competition was held at the University of Texas at Dallas on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014.
Winning teams include members from Dallas, Duncanville and Fort Worth.
“Marking our 5th anniversary was important and exciting,” said David Robinson, the event’s organizer, who started the bowl when he worked in DCCCD’s outreach office. “We welcomed boys from Austin, Fort Worth, Frisco, Irving, Dallas and beyond who came with their team coaches and — in the name of academics — showed us all just how smart they are.” (Robinson recently joined the UT-Dallas office of diversity and community engagement, where he continued to work on this year’s event.)
The annual team-based competition of brain teasers and crowd pleasers is geared toward young African-American men in grades 4 through 8. After five years of competition, DCCCD’s academic bowl is a popular recurring event that has an excellent track record — a program in which no mind is left behind. “We’ve talked to the boys (who competed) and asked them what they’ve learned,” added Robinson. “Almost every boy — 96 percent, in fact — has told us this event motivates them to learn more and finish school. That’s what we set out to do.”