Lemont’s Kim Gannon finishes second in American Islamic Congress essay contest

9/20/2012

Lemont High School senior Kim Gannon's entry was among the nation's top two essays in the 2012 American Islamic Congress Deferred Dream Essay Contest.

Lemont High School senior Kim Gannon has earned a runner-up finish in an American Islamic Congress (AIC) essay competition that drew entries from around the world. Gannon’s entry - “Who Am I to Speak Out?” - won second place among all United States entries in the AIC’s 2012 Deferred Dream Essay Contest, and will be featured in the upcoming book Arab Spring Dreams.

The contest, which includes competitions for Middle Eastern youth and American youth - drew more than 700 entries representing 18 countries across the globe. More than $10,000 in prizes were awarded to the contest’s winners. Grand prize winners in the Middle East and the United States each earned $2,000 prizes, while the runners-up - including Gannon - each earned a $1,500 prize.

According to the AIC’s contest Web site, Gannon’s essay on civil rights in the Middle East “presents an expansive yet realistic vision of a practical solidarity campaign to assist Iranians resisting the forced imposition of hijab on all women by law. (Gannon) recognizes that activists collaborating across borders need [to] talk to each other as people and not causes - and that [the] hardest part of solidarity activism in the U.S. may be stepping out of one’s own comfort zone.”

Click below to read Gannon's essay in its entirety.

"Who Am I to Speak Out?"

Arab Spring Dreams will include work from AIC essay contest winners from the last five years, as well as a foreword from Gloria Steinem and commentary from Nobel Laureate Lech Walesa.

The annual AIC Dream Deferred Essay Contest is inspired by a 1951 Langston Hughes poem, What Happens to a Dream Deferred? The poem helped propel the civil rights movement in the United States, and the AIC’s contest inspires students’ dreams deferred for the Middle East.

For more information, contact Director of School and Community Relations Tony Hamilton at (630) 243-3280.