Teens Advance in NAACP Arts, Science Contest

One teen-ager delivered a fiery speech about drug abuse. Another played the role of the anguished Juliet of Shakespeare. Yet another devised a chemistry project and wrote an accompanying rap defining the term polymer.

They were three of the winners announced Saturday in the annual talent competition sponsored by the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP. The first-place winners in the contest, known as the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics, will compete in the national competition in New York City in July.

The purpose of the competition is to recognize the creativity of black teen-agers who are often only mentioned by the media in stories about crime, social problems and athletics.

The first-place winners are Lisa Simpson, Fremont High School, oratory; Louis Rodgers, Fremont High School, music instrumentals; Ericka Clemmons, St. Bernard High School, drawing and painting categories; Deborah Reliford, Washington High School, music vocals; Maisha Brown, Cal State High School for the Performing Arts, dance; Shaun Henderson, Fremont High School, chemistry; Adrian Daniel, Washington High School, architecture, and Yolanda Thomas, Washington High School, dramatics.