Every year, elementary, middle, and high school students in Berkeley participate in the Black History Oratorical Festival, performing poetry, spoken word, speeches, and more. The tournament typically culminates in the district-wide finale. This year, a district-wide oratorical festival will not be held for the first time since the festival was started in 2018. While there will be no grand finale, individual schools will continue organizing their oratorical events.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the Feb. 18, 2026, Berkeley Unified School District board meeting, Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel announced the implementation of a site-led oratorical model. Despite the change, Ford Morthel stated that \u201cthe oral tradition and celebration of student voice absolutely continues throughout BUSD.\u201d Staffing shortages were specified as the reason for the shift, with Ford Morthel saying that \u201csignificant cross-departmental staff capacity\u201d would have been required for the district-wide event. Some educators believe the change is related to the impact of last year\u2019s budget cuts on the Office of Family Engagement and Equity, which helped plan the festival. However, BUSD has not verified that this is the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since its founding, the oratorical festival has provided students with a means of self-expression and growth. Besides being a meaningful experience for students, the festival also serves to celebrate the culture and contributions of African Americans. \u201cAt its core, this festival is about more than just public speaking; it\u2019s about honoring the legacy of Black history,\u201d Ford Morthel said. By recognizing and highlighting the heritage of a historically marginalized community, the festival promotes unity and understanding. \u201cIt brings forward things from both the present and the past that maybe don\u2019t always get talked about,\u201d Nicole Fitzhugh, Library Media Technician at Berkeley High School, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students competing in the oratorical festival have the option to perform either individual or published pieces that are up to three minutes long. Students may also perform in a group with other students from their grade level, encouraging collaboration and teamwork. Performances center around a yearly theme focusing on Black history. Past themes have included \u201cThe Cultural Revolution of the Harlem Renaissance\u201d in 2025 and \u201cBlack Artists: Art for Change, Art for Joy\u201d in 2024. Performances are evaluated by judges in separate categories, and finalists from each school go on to compete in the final. Subsequently, a panel of judges determines the top three places in each grade division district-wide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Throughout the years, the oratorical festival has become an impactful experience for many community members. \u201cIt\u2019s a really worthy thing that we do to lift up Black culture and public speaking,\u201d Fitzhugh said.<\/p>\n
The district has emphasized the site-led oratorical model as a pilot model, implemented to increase opportunities for students and families. \u201cBy offering showcases, classroom projects, and site-based competitions, we remove the ‘all-or-nothing’ pressure of a district finale and allow for more site-level creativity,\u201d Ford Morthel said. According to the district, this year\u2019s model serves to deepen impact throughout the district.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, the change to the district-wide model of the festival has received mixed feedback from the public. Some parents and teachers have expressed feelings of dissatisfaction, saying that this year\u2019s change is taking away a chance for the district to come together and recognize Black history and culture. Shannon Behrman, a parent at Washington Elementary School, highlighted her daughter\u2019s disappointment at hearing the district-wide festival would not take place. \u201cShe really enjoyed performing last year and was looking forward to it this year,\u201d Behrman said. While individual events continue throughout the schools, many will miss the aspirational feel and excitement of a grand finale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With this change, the district hopes to increase participation and promote unique celebrations within each school. \u201cWe are listening and gathering feedback from students, staff, and families to help us plan for next year and ensure our traditions continue to grow,\u201d Ford Morthel said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every year, elementary, middle, and high school students in Berkeley participate in the Black History Oratorical Festival, performing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-285027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}