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Lincoln Academy Honors Morgan Jennings for Her Historic Work

Morgan Jennings was joined by her father Charles Jennings and stepmother Raytrece Jennings at the Lincoln Academy of Illinois award ceremony.  

The Lincoln Academy of Illinois honored º£½ÇÉçÇø student Morgan Jennings as a 2023 Student Laureate. In the spirit of Abraham Lincoln, Student Laureates are honored for their leadership and service on campus and beyond in pursuing humanity's betterment and for excellence in curricular and extracurricular activities. 

Jennings has emersed herself into sharing the historic African American Voices from Joliet’s Southend. For more than two years, the Matteson, Ill., student has played a significant role as the student coordinator of the "Reclaiming the Narrative: Restoring Black Voices to the Story of Joliet" exhibit. 

"Reclaiming the Narrative" is an ambitious project that focuses on regional historical collections, aiming to amplify the voices of historically marginalized communities. The educational and eye-opening exhibition is a collaborative effort by the º£½ÇÉçÇø History Center, Second Baptist Church, Mount Zion Baptist Church, The National Hook-up of Black Women Joliet Inc., and Warren-Sharpe Community Center.   

Beyond the groundbreaking exhibit, Jennings has shared her knowledge in various settings. Most recently, the former Lockport Woman’s Club/ Pat Darin intern presented “The Disintegration of Unity: Contextualizing Discontent Within Pan-Arab Ideology” at the Midwest World History Association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago.  

In Spring 2022, Jennings presented "The Division and Reunification of the Middle East Through the Promotion of Various Ideologies in the Modern Era" at the Illinois Regional Conference for Phi Alpha Theta. 

Later that semester, Jennings was part of the collaborative student team that won first place in the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Concurrent Session at the º£½ÇÉçÇø Celebration of Scholarship. Their Community Engaged Learning Project “Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project!” assisted Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project by offering recommendations to support their volunteer and donation outreach as well as their social media presence.  

Jennings plans to continue her history studies after earning her bachelor’s degree in December 2023. With a graduate degree, she hopes to continue to share more historical knowledge of underrepresented populations.  

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