Nine students in English teacher Krista Mckim’s Advanced Placement Language and Composition class were chosen by their classmates to perform speeches on topics and issues they were passionate about at Ford’s Theatre for the annual “Stand Up: Be Heard” event May 23.

Speech topics ranged from the experiences of a Muslim American to dealing with the passing of an alcoholic parent. One speech that stood out to the event’s organizers was junior Kemi Campbell’s speech on colorism, a form of racism based upon the shade of a person’s skin, McKim said.

In addition to their performances, last year’s DMV speech winner and RHS senior, Christian Melgar, returned to the stage to be an emcee.

“Last year, I delivered my speech titled ‘Never Enough’ for the Ford’s Theatre Oratory Program,” he said. “Throughout the year I was a student fellow [mentor] and had the opportunity to mentor students from all over the U.S. Because of my involvement, I was asked to be the emcee for ‘StandUp: Be Heard 2019.’”