BET.com takes a look at some of the brightest and best.
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Whiz Kids of 2011 - In the following pages, BET.com takes a look at some of the brightest and best kids in the African-American community whose talents developed or emerged this year.
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Autum Ashante - Autum Ashante, a 13-year-old who speaks Arabic, Swahili and Spanish and scored a 149 on her IQ test (higher than most college students), enrolled at Norwalk Community College this fall.(Photo: Batin Ashante)
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Saheela Ibraheem - Fifteen-year-old Saheela Ibraheem from New Jersey became a member of Harvard University’s class of 2015. Of the students admitted to the college this year, 11.8 percent were African-American— a possible record for Harvard.
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Ty Hobson-Powell - On May 15, then 15-year-old Ty Hobson-Powell became the youngest graduate of the University of Baltimore. He started playing college basketball as a freshman just three years ago. After completing 27 college credits in only one school-semester, however, he gave up his love for the game to focus even more on his schooling.
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Justus Williams, James Black Jr., and Joshua Colas - Three African-American teens, Justus Williams, Joshua Colas and James Black Jr., all attained the status of chess master before the age of 13. Less than two percent of the 47,000 members of the United States Chess Federation have earned that title, and only 13 of them are under 14 years old.(Photo: Derrick Bryant)
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Tony Hansberry II - In the ninth grade, Tony Hansberry II created a stitching technique that can be used to reduce surgical complications. Now as a senior at Darnell-Cookman Middle/High School of the Medical Arts, he’s hoping to become a neurosurgeon someday.(Photo: The Florida Times-Union, Jon M. Fletcher)
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