On the last night of Black History Month in a beautiful little art gallery in the city’s midtown, Jermaine Tripp stood in front of a stunning, pastel drawing of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
The work was done by Tripp, 17, one of a dozen students that a juggernaut company took a minute to celebrate for their art.
Detroit-area McDonald’s restaurant owners gathered at the N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art to announce the winners of a contest called “McDonald’s Celebrates Black History Moments on Canvas.”
The contest did celebrate famous black people, but what it honored as much as history was talent. It was hard to separate the students’ work from some of the gallery’s other pieces.
The contest’s goal was to encourage southeast Michigan teens to research the proud heritage of local and national African Americans throughout history.
“We are so proud of these young people and their artistic expression of the history, heritage, hard work and accomplishments of black people,” McDonald’s restaurant owner Jon Campbell said as he presented the top awards. “We are thrilled to know that a program about black history resonated with these students and inspired them to use art as a tool for expression and learning”
The group gave cash prizes to all 12 finalists, but the third-place winner received $500; the second place winner rececied $1,000 and Jamaine Tripp?
He got $2,000 and his teacher got $375.
So what’s next for Jermaine Tripp? No, he’s not going to Disney World.
“I want to be an mechanical engineer or an architect,” he said. “I might want to do art on the side.”