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Applause, laughter and cheering reverberated in a Madison auditorium on Thursday as students raced to answer questions during the African American History Academic Challenge. The annual event, a partnership between the Madison Metropolitan School District and the nonprofit 100 Black Men of Madison, Inc., seeks to enhance appreciation and knowledge of Black history and bolster pride and self-worth.

Student teams representing two high schools and a half-dozen middle schools demonstrated knowledge through challenges focused on key events, figures and themes in African American history. McFarland and Verona middle schools also hold the event, with winners advancing to a regional competition on March 14. That contest determines who represents Madison’s 100 Black Men chapter on a national stage in New York City. 

As the middle school competition unfolded in the Doyle Administration Building, Sennett Middle School teacher Johnny Kennedy pumped her fist as she cheered on the students she coached. 

“I’m so proud of them,” Kennedy said. 

Her group of seventh and eighth graders had practiced since November. Some had competed last year without advancing, but they immediately knew they wanted to try again this year. James C. Wright Middle School ultimately advanced. 

During the separate high school contest that Robert M. La Follette High School won, “Coach O” Anderson, a Madison West High School student engagement specialist, said she learned about the event when her son Micah advanced to the national finals in Las Vegas during his eighth grade year in 2018. 

High schoolers tend to lag behind middle schoolers in participation. Anderson aimed to ramp up the same level of excitement among high schoolers that younger students display. She aims to engage more than just the “usual kids who get the opportunities” — like those already earning A’s in history and taking AP courses. 

“I wanted the regular kids who don’t necessarily see themselves involved like this to have an opportunity,” she said. Her main motivation is watching her students put themselves in “transformational situations,” she added.

An audience sits facing a stage where several people sit behind desks with microphones while another person stands at a podium labeled "Madison Metropolitan School District"
Students from Sennett Middle School and Sherman Middle School compete in the 2026 African American History Academic Challenge in the McDaniels Auditorium on March 12, 2026, at the Doyle Administration Building in Madison, Wis.
Dr. Floyd Rose, president of 100 Black Men of Madison, prepares the stage for the 2026 African American History Academic Challenge in the McDaniels Auditorium, March 12, 2026, at the Doyle Administration Building in Madison, Wis.
Four people sit in wooden auditorium seats talking; one gestures while another reaches toward their hand, and a person in a yellow headwrap holds a book reading "HISTORY"
Madison West High School freshmen Carley Baker, from left, Jalena Johnson, and Connor Baker, alongside their coach, Madison West High School student engagement specialist Coach O Anderson, prepare to compete in the 2026 African American History Academic Challenge.
Four people sit in wooden auditorium seats; two raise their hands toward each other while another person in a yellow headwrap holds eyeglasses and a drink cup nearby
Madison West High School freshmen Carley Baker, clockwise from right, Jalena Johnson, and Connor Baker, alongside their coach, student engagement specialist “Coach O” Anderson, laugh while preparing to compete in the 2026 African American History Academic Challenge in the McDaniels Auditorium on March 12, 2026, at the Doyle Administration Building in Madison, Wis.
Two students sit next to each other behind a podium. A sign says "West" and a buzzer is shown.
Madison West High School freshmen Connor Baker, left, and Jalena Johnson listen as the rules are read aloud before competing in the 2026 African American History Academic Challenge.
Two people sit at a desk with microphones facing each other while a person at a podium stands nearby; a bottle of hand sanitizer sits on the desk beside the microphones
La Follette High School students Per August Svensson, a junior, left, and Lillyanne Medenwaldt, a senior, compete in the 2026 African American History Academic Challenge.
Two people shake hands in front of a dais with microphones while others stand nearby and a person at a podium holds papers against a backdrop of dark curtains
Students from Madison West High School and La Follette High School shake hands after competing in the 2026 African American History Academic Challenge.
A person sits in a wooden auditorium seat writing in a notebook while others sit in a row beside them holding papers and books
La Follette High School junior Ajiefatou Sagnia studies her textbook while preparing for the 2026 African American History Academic Challenge.
A person with white hair and glasses sits at a table with papers and folders, looking upward; a briefcase rests on the floor beside the chair
Dr. Floyd Rose, president of 100 Black Men of Madison, listens as students compete in the 2026 African American History Academic Challenge.
Three people stand and lean over a table in an auditorium; one holds a green folder while another rests a hand on the table near scattered papers
Floyd Rose, president of 100 Black Men of Madison, from left, Edward Murray, Jr., a founding member, and J.R. Sims, spokesperson, talk among themselves during the 2026 African American History Academic Challenge in the McDaniels Auditorium on March 12, 2026, at the Doyle Administration Building in Madison, Wis.
A person walks through a doorway labeled "McDANIELS AUDITORIUM" toward rows of seats and a stage with a podium and desks visible at the front
A spectator walks into the McDaniels Auditorium to watch the 2026 African American History Academic Challenge on March 12, 2026, at the Doyle Administration Building in Madison, Wis.

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Joe Timmerman is Wisconsin Watch’s staff photojournalist via Report for America. Previously, he interned at the Indianapolis Star, The Texas Tribune and the Cincinnati Enquirer. A native of Loveland, Ohio, Timmerman graduated from Ohio University in 2023 with dual degrees in visual communication and journalism. His work has been recognized by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the National Press Photographers Foundation, the Ohio News Photographers Association and the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences.