The Detroit Writing Room and Coaching Detroit Forward are proud to share that our students and coaches took home seven Society of Professional Journalists Awards for their stories and photography published in the 2020 edition of Perspectives Magazine. Their coverage of summer 2020 featured the coronavirus pandemic, racial protests and political unrest.

The students attended mainly virtual journalism and photography camps due to COVID-19 and worked with our writing and photography coaches over Zoom last summer, which ultimately led to award-winning articles and photos.

The 2021 SPJ Excellence in Journalism Awards had over 500 entries from local news outlets and nonprofit organizations. Our Detroit high school students placed above professional journalists from the Detroit Metro Times, C & G Newspapers and writers from the Kresge Foundation.

Kenndall Wallace, a recent graduate of Michigan Connections Academy, took first place in the Consumer/Watchdog Reporting category for her story, ““The Effects of Covid-19 on Elder Abuse.”

“I see this award as a reflection of not only all of my hard work but the work that my mentors and family put into me, so to push me forward in my career and passion,” she says. “To win first place means a lot to me precisely because of that reason, and to be completely honest, I'm not sure that I'm even over the shock that came from my reading the award announcement!”

Brianna Logan, a recent graduate of Cass Tech High School, was also excited about her first-place win in the Racial Justice Reporting category. She says the award shows the importance of achieving equal representation in the journalism industry and that it’s a step toward the industry recognizing the need for racial justice reporting.

“My piece was about giving Black photographers the voice to voice their opinions in their photographs and what's going on in their community because we don't really get the platform to express ourselves,” she says. Logan will be studying journalism at Howard University this year.

Students and CDF executive director Stephanie Steinberg (middle) display their photos at CDF’s Student Photography Showcase. Photo by Dominick Sokotoff

Photography coach Sacred-Overstreet Amos was thrilled that two students placed above her in the Feature Photography category.

“What better than the students becoming better than their teachers? That means that they learned enough where they could create something beautiful that people were grateful for and appreciative of. It was an honor really,” she says.

She adds that the students’ talent and creativity shone through their photos. “Our children come from a space where they may not have a lot. They may not have the finances to get to a camp or a workshop that would teach them in depth like we did,” she says. “I think it’s their passion and their drive that led to their success.”

The photography camp was free for Detroit students thanks to the support of the Fisher Foundation. Each student was given a professional camera and laptop to borrow during the camp.

This was the first time the DWR and CDF entered the SPJ Awards.

“We knew the students produced award-winning storytelling and photography last summer, and these awards confirmed that,” says CDF Executive Director Stephanie Steinberg. “The recognition was an incredible confidence booster for the aspiring journalists and photographers part of our summer camps. The coaches and I have no doubt these are just the first of many professional awards that the students will receive.”

— Julia Maloney Contributed