A local elementary school student, inspired by a man she met while serving the homeless, was selected as the only Plant City winner in a district-wide art contest for Black History Month.
LEAD, which stands for lead, empower, advocate, dream, is a contest in which students are asked to create a work of art that represents a local black leader who inspired them. There are three categories: visual art, performance and literature. Students’ work is judged on its originality and quality, but the students must also submit statements of why they chose their particular leaders.
Taylor Johnson, a fourth grader at Bailey Elementary School, entered the visual art category and won first place in her age group. She was selected out of more than 1,100 contest winners throughout the district, 50 from Bailey. Taylor received a host of impressive prizes, including a $1,500 scholarship.
“It’s unbelievable. We’re still in shock,” Rachel Johnson, Taylor’s mother, said. “We never saw any of this coming.”
The portrait painting was chosen partly because of the inspirational story behind the subject, a homeless man named OJ.
Almost weekly, Taylor and Rachel serve the homeless with their church at Plant City Veterans Monument Park off Wheeler Street. On a number of occasions, Taylor noticed OJ, who was particularly selfless and caring. He always made sure the children were able to eat before he did, and he helped the elderly get their food.
OJ even gave his blanket away to a homeless woman who had not received one when the church ran out of blankets to give.
“He helped people and treated others better than he treated himself,” Taylor said. “That’s amazing, to care about others more than you care about yourself.”
“(Taylor) was so inspired that someone who could be down on their luck and living a hard life could still be caring and worry about other people, and it has inspired her to be a better person,” Rachel said.
Taylor was shocked when she found out she had won the LEAD contest.
“I was incredibly happy,” she said. “I thought that the picture didn’t even have a chance.”
Hillsborough County Public Schools honored Taylor and the other eight LEAD winners at a reception Monday, Feb. 16, at the Tampa Museum of Art. But all of the students who entered the contest from Bailey were treated to a special breakfast at school later in the week, where they received personal thank-you cards from the district, and rubber bracelets with the LEAD acronym on them.
“We wanted to make a big deal out of not just Taylor winning, but all of the kids who participated,” Bailey principal Russell Wallace said. “We definitely encouraged all of our kids to enter. … I think it’s just a great overall thing to do anytime of the year, let alone Black History Month.”
The Prizes
As one of the nine winners of the LEAD contest, Taylor Johnson received the following: A set of Scholastic books, family membership to the Tampa Museum of Art, family tickets to a Tampa Bay Rays game, an ECHO pen, an Amazon tablet, a Dell laptop and a $1,500 scholarship to use after she graduates from high school.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.