Patterson High students praised for history competition performance

PATTERSON — The City Council on Tuesday honored two young men for their knowledge of history.

The council gave Community Spotlight recognition to Patterson High juniors Destin Smith and Tyson Leonard, who earned a place in an African American History Challenge event recently in Miami.

The competition has been conducted since 1995 by the 100 Black Men organization, dedicated to mentoring young men.

The questions in the competition draw from the work of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, the Harvard professor familiar from his PBS programs detailing the ancestry of celebrities of all races, from former first lady Michelle Obama to comedy writer Larry David.

The St. Mary chapter of 100 Black Men conducted an African American history quiz bowl in February in Franklin. That’s where Smith and Leonard qualified for the event in Miami.

There they finished out of the running, but generated some hometown pride nevertheless.

“They represented us very well,” said Councilman Travis Darnell, a Patterson High teacher who was the students’ sponsor in the competi-tion, “and they made us proud.”

Both Leonard and Smith are football players, Darnell said. They also took dual enrollment LSU courses, earning nine college hours each even though they haven’t yet started their last year of high school.

Mayor Rodney Grogan thanked Darnell for his role in the competition.

“Thank you very much for your passion,” Grogan said.