Winners Will Receive Cash Prizes
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California (SCLC-SC) Emerging Leaders is holding Essay & Oratorical and Art Contests as a part of King Legacy Week 2016. Civil rights champion Martin Luther King, Jr. once delivered a powerful speech with this resonant line: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Students are encouraged to study Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy and integrate how his work helped to break barriers into their contest creations.
“The tragedies of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and others have stirred a movement in our country where young African Americans are pushing back through their own form of activism against a system that disenfranchises them,” said Jamie E. Wright, Esq., SCLC-SC Board Member and Emerging Leaders Chairperson. “With this activism in mind, we want to challenge them to be critical thinkers about the political landscape and how they need and want to be engaged by those elected to serve them. And that’s what this year’s essay topic and theme attempt to accomplish.”
The contests are open to all Southern California middle and high school students to compete in two categories: Grades 6 through 8 and Grades 9 through 12, with the finalists receiving cash prizes. All entries must be submitted no later than Sunday, December 20, 2016 at 11:59 p.m.
A maximum of twenty-five (25) entries will be selected from each age group to participate in the live Essay & Oratorical semi-finals on Saturday, January 9, 2016. Three entries from each age group will be selected to advance to the live finals on Tuesday, January 12th.
A first, second, and third place winner will be selected from each age group and will win $500, $375 and $125 respectively in each contest. In addition, the school with the most qualifying applications will receive a grant for $500.00.
All winning students will be recognized at the SCLC-SC Legacy Awards Benefit Gala January 18, 2016 with the Essay & Oratorical Grand Prize Winner reciting all or a portion of their winning essay, and the Original Art Grand Prize Winner’s entry on display.
The application and official rules can be found at www.SCLC-SC.org beginning December 1, 2015.
