JACKSON – Christ the King Parish member Parris Watts has again represented Mississippi as a regional winner in the Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Justice Advocacy Essay Competition, sponsored by the National Bar Association and Met Life. She had to write an essay and present an oral argument supporting it.
The topic this year was about a student protest staged after President Donald Trump was elected. Students walked out of their classes to “to express their dissatisfaction with the election results and in condemnation of Trump’s politically charged comments about women, minorities and immigrants”. The Bar Association asked contestants if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have supported the protest. Watts earned the same honor last year with an essay about the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I was selected as the first place regional winner representing Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. I received a scholarship for winning first place at the regional level and a monetary reward for being a finalist at the National Competition,” wrote Watts in an email to Mississippi Catholic. On August 3, Watts competed against all the other regional winners at the Bar Association convention in Toronto, Canada.
According to the association’s website, this competition is “designed to motivate high school students to excel in education. The competition encourages students to express their views on a preselected topic and focuses on the ability of the students to communicate orally and in writing.”
“I entered the competition again because I knew that this would be great experience and another great opportunity to meet lawyers and get a better insight to the career that I would like to pursue. I plan to become a civil rights attorney,” explained Watts. “I approached the essay by reviewing the question and forming an answer of my own. I also researched information about how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have approached this situation,” she added.
Watts, a 2017 graduate of Richland High School, serves as the Vice Grand Lady for the Junior Daughters of the Knights of Peter Claver court 199.