MEDIA RELEASE
June 14, 2023
Media Contact:
Matt Porter
617-514-1574
press@jfklfoundation.org
www.jfklibrary.org
John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest Winner Highlights Efforts to Ensure Voting Rights
—Winning Essay Profiles Alabama State Senator Joseph Langan’s Leadership in Dismantling Discriminatory Barriers to Voting—
BOSTON – The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation today announced that Jeremy Haynes, a senior at Mobile Christian School in Mobile, Alabama, has won the national John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest for High School Students. The winning essay describes the political courage of former Alabama State Senator Joseph Langan, who in 1949 took a bold stand against an amendment that would disenfranchise Black citizens in his state. Haynes describes how Langan was ousted in his reelection campaign for protecting voting rights of all citizens in Alabama.
The essay contest is sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
Read the winning essay on our website.
The annual Profile in Courage Essay Contest invites high school students from across the nation to write an essay on an act of political courage by a US elected official. The contest is a companion program of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award™, named for Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Courage, which recounts the stories of eight US senators who risked their careers by embracing unpopular decisions for the greater good. This year, 2,199 essays were submitted from students in fifty states, Washington, D.C., and from US citizens in Canada, India, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, South Korea, Sudan, Taiwan, Uganda, and United Arab Emirates.
“Jeremy’s essay reminds us that sometimes a healthy democracy requires political leaders who are willing to stand up for the greater good at any cost,” said Rachel Flor, Executive Director of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. “It is important that young people — our future leaders — recognize the importance of political courage. I am so thrilled to see thousands of students participate in this year’s Profile in Courage Essay Contest to learn about the challenges faced by our past elected leaders and the choices they made to stand up for the greater good.”
Haynes will receive a $10,000 scholarship award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation for his accomplishment.
A dedicated track and cross-country runner, Haynes discovered his essay subject while training in a municipal park named after Joseph Langan. He became curious about the park’s namesake, researched Langan’s story, and discovered the state senator’s fearless actions to support voting rights for all. Haynes also found a statue in Mobile of Langan and civil rights activist John L. LeFlore, which inspired the introduction and conclusion of his essay.
Haynes serves as president of his school’s Student Government Association. He is a member of both the National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta, a mathematics honor society. He volunteers for a local food drive with Regency Church of Christ and interned for Congressman Jerry Carl’s 2020 campaign.
Haynes’s nominating teacher, Ms. Anita Presley, will receive a John F. Kennedy Public Service Grant in the amount of $500 to be used for school projects that encourage student leadership and civic engagement.
Baileigh Borna, a junior at River Ridge High School in Woodstock, Georgia, was selected as the second-place winner for her essay on Penny Blue, School Board Member of Franklin County, Virginia. She will receive a $3,000 prize for this recognition.
Each of the following five finalists will receive a $1,000 prize: Robert Hlatki, a senior at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, profiled Jack Mashburn, former State Representative of Florida; Cathy Li, a junior at Walnut High School in Walnut, California, profiled Jonathan Nez, former President of Navajo Nation; Finn Mallard, a junior at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California, profiled Marjorie Margolies, former US Representative of Pennsylvania; Elise Spenner, a junior at Burlingame High School in Burlingame, California, profiled Vincent Yano, former State Senator of Hawaii; and Jesse Van Doren, a junior at Towson High School in Towson, Maryland, profiled Kurt Schmoke, former Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland.
Ten students were recognized as semifinalists: Isabella Bian, a first-year student at Palo Alto Senior High School in Palo Alto, California, profiled John Katko, former US House Representative of New York; Jacob Bruns, a junior at John F. Kennedy Senior High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, profiled Dustin Hite, former State Representative of Iowa; Siddharth D'costa, a sophomore at Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon, profiled Benjamin W. Olcott, former Governor of Oregon; Haaniyah Faisal, a sophomore at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, in Plainsboro, New Jersey, profiled Christopher Jacobs, former US Representative of New York; Angel Hu, a junior at Central Magnet School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, profiled Elaine Noble, former State Representative of Massachusetts; Eric Lu, a junior at Rowland Hall-St Mark’s School in Salt Lake City, Utah, profiled Mike Moore, former Attorney General of Mississippi; Arianna Mannino, a junior at Florida Virtual School in Orlando, Florida profiled Christopher Jacobs, former US Representative of New York; Luke Pavelchik, a junior at Francis Parker School in San Diego, California, profiled Mike Bonin, former City Councilmember of Los Angeles, California; Gabriel Uceda-Sosa, a junior at Ridgefield High School in Ridgefield, Connecticut, profiled Julian Bond, former State Representative of Georgia; and Brian Wang, a junior at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, profiled Vel Phillips, former Alderwoman of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Eight students received honorable mentions and are listed, along with winners, finalists, and semifinalists, at www.jfklibrary.org/essaycontest.
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation created the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 1989 to honor President Kennedy’s commitment and contribution to public service and to celebrate his May 29th birthday. The award is presented annually to public servants who have made courageous decisions of conscience without regard for the personal or professional consequences. The award is named for President Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage. A distinguished committee of leaders from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the National Archives and Records Administration selected the winning essays.
About The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides financial support, staffing, and creative resources for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. The private financial support provided by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation enables the federal government to expand the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum’s research and archival capacity, to undertake marketing and public information projects, to offer intern and research fellowship programs, to enhance its museum and exhibits, and to offer nationally recognized educational and public programming.
By sponsoring and administering programs such as the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, the New Frontier Award, and the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest for High School Students, the Foundation is united with the library in a common mission to perpetuate President Kennedy's ideal that political and public service be conducted and exemplified as an honorable and patriotic profession.