An Indian origin boy, JJ Kapur, has won America’s National Speech and Debate Tournament after he composed his own persuasive speech titled ‘Let’s Dance’ which addresses a social issue.
As mentioned in , JJ Kapur won the competition in the category of original oratory. His speech started out with a lively Bollywood dance and then focused on his experiences as a Sikh-American youth. He scored top ranking in the semi-finals and the final round before winning the championship trophy.
Kapur is a Valley High School junior in West Des Moines, Iowa. He shared his experience to highlight the stereotyping of Sikh and Muslim identities post 9/11 attacks.
Source: Facebook
"I found that the story of Bollywood was just that, a story....And this disconnect between story and reality extends far beyond India's borders. We are a story-telling society. We each seek to provide our scattered and confusing experiences with a sense of coherence, by arranging the episodes of our lives into stories. The problem arises when our complex realities does not match the narrative," Kapur said in his speech.
Source: Facebook
He mentioned that he was two years old when the 7/11 attacks happened. He was watching news with his family when he thought he saw a picture of his father on TV and pointed it out to his family. It was, in fact, the picture of Al-Qaeda’s former leader Osama Bin Laden.
“My father was afraid that Americans would see his beard and turban and think ‘terrorist’,” he said.
His interest in the topic was fuelled by an experience when a group of strangers mocked him at a restaurant, telling him to "Go home, Osama."
"I remember thinking, 'I'm an American. I've lived here my whole life. This is my home," he said.
"As a Sikh minority, I want to use speech and debate to amplify the voice of Sikhs in my community. I want to use the platform I have for advocacy," Kapur had said.
Watch his full, award winning, Original Oratory Speech here:
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