Speeches given last night at the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Thurgood Marshall Speech Contest in HUB-Robeson Center Heritage Hall focused on various aspects of the black community.

"You are black and you are beautiful, and not because I said so, but because that's the way God made us. So let's start acting like a people," said Takkeem Morgan (sophomore-psychology and African and African-American Studies) in his first place speech.

Morgan's topic, knowledge of self in the black community, was just one of the many issues tackled by the eight student speakers competing in the event. Other themes included leadership in the black community, affirmative action and the education of minorities in predominantly white institutions.

This is the 16th year Alpha Phi Alpha has hosted the event, which is meant as both a forum for issues of the Penn State black community and to offer scholarships to minority students. The contest is named after Marshall because he was an exceptional leader in the black community as well as a past brother of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Morgan received a $500 scholarship. The second place winner, Nicole Watkins (junior-psychology), was awarded a free semester of books. And third place winner Walter DeShields (junior-English) was given a Best Buy certificate.

A panel of six judges from the Penn State community evaluated contestants. Students could receive a maximum of 10 points in three separate categories: speech, content and delivery. Speeches were between five and seven minutes long.

DeShield's speech questioned whether feelings of unity after the Sept. 11 attacks should include the black community.

"The United States is at a stage of crisis and people are insecure . . . My people have been insecure for 400 years," he said. "I will not support a system that will fight a war for oil but not fight a war in the neighborhoods of poverty and hunger."

Giving a speech titled "Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud," Nicol Kiston-Walters (sophomore-environmental and renewable resource economics) addressed the issue of skin tone in the black community.

"A great deal of the prejudices that I have experienced in my life have come from people who look like me," she said.