black history month essay contest

Black History Month Essay Contest

About the scholarship.

The Black History Month Essay Contest is open to current 4th-12th grade students from Florida who are planning to attend a 2-year college within the state. Eligible applicants should have an interest in African-American leaders, educators, and public figures from Florida.

• Essay Required : Yes
• Need-Based : No
• Merit-Based : No
• Resident of Florida
• Current 4th12th grade student
• Seeking a professional certification or associate degree
• Planning to attend a 2year college in Florida
• Interest in AfricanAmerican leaders, educators, and public figures from Florida
• Country : US

Black History Essay Competition

The Dr. Carter G. Woodson 2024 Black History Essay Competition for Students in Grades 10-12 and at Marshall University.  This essay contest is sponsored by the national Pan-Hellenic Council at Marshall University as well as the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Lyceum.

African Americans and the Arts

Eligibility.

There are four separate divisions for the competition based on three high school levels — for students in grades 10, 11 and 12 — and one level for all Marshall University students.

$100 each to winners in grades 10, 11 and 12; $200 to the Marshall University winner, and $50 to honorable mentions.

Due to the poor weather conditions and school closings last week, the deadline has been extended to 11 p.m., January 26, 2024

Essays will be judged on

• The extent to which students effectively express the importance the theme, “African Americans and the Arts.”
• Correct use of spelling, grammar usage, sentence structure.
• organization, arguments and conclusion also will be considered by judges.

Please note the following requirements:

• Students in grades 10-12 should state their names, grade levels and teachers’ names if they are submitting essays through a class. This information should appear on line 1. Marshall students should state their names, year in school and majors on the top line of each page.
• Pages should be numbered.
• On line 2, type the essay’s theme — “African Americans and the Arts.”
• Below the headings (1-3 above), the first page should be a short statement about what the student learned while conducting research for this essay – at least 100 words but not longer than page 1.
• PDF Version
• DOCX Version
• The essay should begin on page 3.
• Page setup should be 1-inch margins, and text should be double-spaced using 12-point font in Times New Roman.
• Essays should be submitted only in PDF.
• Create a filename for the document: Your Lastname_BlackHistoryEssay_2024 (Example: Morris_BlackHistoryEssay_2024).

Additional Information

Please visit 2024 Black History Theme African Americans and the Arts (asalh.org) for additional information about the Black History Theme. Explore Black History through the Association for the Study of African American Life and History ( www.asalh.org ), the organization founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1915.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson is considered the Father of Black History. He received his high school diploma from Frederick Douglass High School in Huntington, West Virginia, in 1896, and returned four years later as principal. A statue of Dr. Woodson is located at 820 Hall Greer Blvd., in Huntington. About Dr. Woodson:

www.marshall.edu/woodsonlyceum/

Other Important Information

• Winners must complete paperwork for payments of the awards.
• Winners (including parents/guardians of minors) grant Marshall University permission for use of the winning essays in printed forms and online in various promotions.
• Winners are expected to attend the awards dinner at Marshall in February.

Upload Essay

Sorry, we are no longer taking contest entries. The deadline had been extended to January 26th at 11pm.

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Black History Month Essay Contest 2024: Results

Jackson is an undergraduate student majoring in history and African and African-American studies at UC Davis. His winning essay explores the repercussions for Black Californians of a Supreme Court case about homelessness.

Read Jackson’s winning essay at CalMatters here:

Supreme Court homelessness case holds extra significance for Black Californians

Honorable Mentions

Rebekka Twine, ‘A Strength-Based Approach to Lifting Up Black Communities in California’

Anthony Zammikiel, ‘How Can We Reduce Racial & Economic Inequality In California? Reassess and Rethink Our Prison Systems’

Thank you to all the students who submitted such thoughtful and thought-provoking essays, and to Yousef Baig, commentary editor at CalMatters, for his support.

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For the past 22 years, the Florida Prepaid College Foundation has been a proud sponsor of the Florida Black History Month Essay Contest. 

The Essay Contest is open to all students in grades 4-12 in Florida. The contest honors the historic contributions and accomplishments of African-American leaders, educators, and public figures from Florida. More than fifty Florida Prepaid College Plan Scholarships have been awarded as part of this program.

Congratulations to the 2024 Black History Month Essay Contest winners! Each winning student received a 2-Year Florida College Plan Scholarship from the Florida Prepaid College Foundation.

Essay Contest winners:

• Elementary School Category: Jeremiah Gordon and Skyla Brooks
• Middle School Category: Adrienne Menard, Katherine Newkirk
• High School Category: Joseph Gordon III and Daniel Macias

Are you a Black History Month Florida Prepaid Scholarship student?

Your scholarship is designed to be easy to use and flexible. If you have any questions, please call our Customer Service team at 1-800-552-4723, Monday – Friday, 8 am – 6 pm ET.

Important information for you to know:

Easy to use – When you are ready for college you should let your donor know where you will attend classes. Florida Prepaid will pay your college or university directly, making the process easy for you!

Plan accepted at any qualified educational institution – Your scholarship is designed to be flexible and allows students (beneficiaries) to attend the post-secondary institution of their choice regardless of the type of plan, unless otherwise indicated by the donor at the time the beneficiary is assigned to their scholarship. The Florida Prepaid College Plan may be used at any eligible educational institution as defined in s. 529 of the Internal Revenue Code.

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As the 501(c)(3), direct support organization for the Florida Prepaid College Board, the Foundation helps support our shared goal of making college more affordable and accessible for more Floridians.

Your donation will be used in furtherance of the tax-exempt charitable purposes of Florida Prepaid College Foundation, Inc. (the “Foundation”). All donations are received and considered unrestricted unless explicitly stated otherwise by the donor. If funds received exceed the specific need or goal of a Foundation program, then, at the discretion of the Foundation, any funds donated may be used for similar scholarship programs operated by the Foundation.

View the Master Contract and Program Description and Participation Agreement for more information.

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John A. Ferguson Senior High School

World Class School

  The Eleventh Judicial Circuit and the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. Bar Association Black History Month Essay Contest.        

·         The Eleventh Judicial Circuit in collaboration with the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. Bar Association takes this time to celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Americans, who, throughout history, have done so much to make America the culturally diverse and prosperous nation we are today. During Black History Month, Miami-Dade County Public Schools students can gain insight into the experiences of Black Americans and the vital role this community has played throughout our shared history.   The 11th Judicial Circuit Essay Contest is Open to   Senior High School Students ONLY .     There will be three (3) educational prizes donated for the winning essays as follows:        

o     FIRST   place winner will receive $2,500.00.       

o     SECOND   place will receive $1,500.00.       

o     THIRD   place winner will receive $1000.00.    

·          Submit yours to Mr. Warren or your Social Studies teacher. 

·         See the attachment titled-   SHS ONLY- 11th Judicial Circuit and Bar Association Contest guidelines   for additional details.      

  M-DCPS/Department of Social Sciences K-12 Black History Month Essay Contest     

·         Submit yours to Mr. Warren or your Social Studies teacher by Friday , January 14 at 12:00 p.m. (noon). 

·         See the attachment titled-   2021 Black History Essay Contest Guidelines   for guidelines, essay prompts, and logistics.   

Black History Essay Topics

• Writing Essays
• Writing Research Papers
• English Grammar
• M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
• B.A., History, Armstrong State University

Black history is full of fascinating stories, rich culture, great art, and courageous acts that were undertaken within unthinkable circumstances. While Civil Rights events are the most common themes in our studies, we should resist equating Black history only with Civil Rights-era history. This list contains 50 prompts that might lead you into some interesting and little-known information about Black American history.

Note: Your first challenge in studying some of the topics below is finding resources. When conducting an internet search, be sure to place quotation marks around your search term (try different variations) to narrow your results.

• Black American newspapers
• Black Inventors
• Black soldiers in the American Revolution
• Black soldiers in the Civil War
• Buffalo Soldiers
• Buying time
• Camp Logan Riots
• Clennon Washington King, Jr.
• Coffey School of Aeronautics
• Crispus Attucks
• Domestic labor strikes in the South
• Finding lost family members after emancipation
• First African Baptist Church
• Formerly enslaved business owners
• Freedom's Journal
• Gospel music
• Gullah heritage
• Harlem Hellfighters
• Harlem Renaissance
• Harriet Tubman
• Historically Black Colleges
• History of rock-and-roll
• Jumping the broom
• Manumission papers
• Maroon villages in the eighteenth century
• Motown Records
• Multi-cultural pirate ships
• Narratives by Enslaved People
• Otelia Cromwell
• Ownership of property by enslaved people
• Purchasing freedom
• Ralph Waldo Tyler
• Register of Free Persons of Color
• Secret schools in antebellum America
• Sherman's March followers
• Susie King Taylor
• The Amistad
• The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
• The Communist Party (involvement)
• The Great Migration
• The Haitian Revolution
• Tuskegee Airmen
• Underground Railroad
• Urban enslavement (related to buying time)
• Wilberforce College, Ohio
• 67 Causal Essay Topics to Consider
• Topical Organization Essay
• 100 Persuasive Essay Topics
• 501 Topic Suggestions for Writing Essays and Speeches
• Cause and Effect Essay Topics
• Personal Essay Topics
• Ecology Essay Ideas
• List of Topics for How-to Essays
• How to Write a Narrative Essay or Speech (With Topic Ideas)
• 50 Argumentative Essay Topics
• Essay Writing Contests for Students
• Structure of a Descriptive Essay
• Tips for Writing a "What I Did on Vacation" Essay
• Practice in Supporting a Topic Sentence with Specific Details
• Writing a Descriptive Essay
• What Is Expository Writing?

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U.S. Embassy & Consulates in South Africa

YOUR VISION – YOUR COUNTRY – YOUR FUTURE 

In celebration of Black History Month and to mark 30 years of South African democracy and U.S.-South Africa democratic partnership, the Embassy of the United States in South Africa announces the launch of a written and oral essay competition entitled  “I HAVE A DREAM – WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE”  beginning on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – January 15, 2024.  South African youth aged 16-20 years old are invited to write an essay of 400-500 words that relates to their dreams and vision of a positive future for South Africa, and a video of them reading that essay.  In reflecting on the experience of 30 years of the challenges and successes of democracy, the essay should tap into the hopes for what the country could look towards in the next 30 years.  The text and video should be submitted by here , including a private YouTube or other shareable video link of the individual reading their essay as though they were addressing an audience. The top 9 nationwide winners (1 from each province) will be invited to a final event in Pretoria in mid-April, where they will participate in a live essay speech event with their peers, with Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety II and other U.S. and South African officials and attendees.

Contestants are reminded that by participating in the contest and uploading content to YouTube or other platform (Facebook, Instagram & X) they are bound by the platform’s Terms of Service and any agreements contained therein.  Once a video is uploaded to the chosen platform, it is considered a final submission and may not be modified or replaced.  Individual contestants may submit only one essay and one corresponding video.

Submissions must be in English, although language accuracy will not be the principal selection criterion for finalists.

Submit your essay and video link on here by  11:59 p.m. Pretoria time on March 10, 2024  to be considered (see full instructions below). The nine finalists will be invited to Gauteng for a live final event on April 17,2024 in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of South African Democracy; the Grand Prize winners will be announced at that time.

A jury composed of South African and U.S. judges will select the 9 finalists.  Videos will be judged on effectiveness in communicating the importance and unique takes on the topic, as well as what the author stands for.

The 9 finalists will be invited to Gauteng to present their essays orally and the top 3 winners will be selected by an expert panel.

From among the 9 finalists, the U.S. Embassy will award three top prizes at the conclusion of the final performance including a MacBook computer for first place.  Winners of the 2nd and 3rd places will be awarded an iPad and an iPad Mini, respectively.  Winning essays and videos will be featured on the U.S. Embassy’s social media accounts.  All finalists will receive certificates from the U.S. Embassy in recognition of their efforts.

Contest participants must provide the following information in the form when they fill it in:

• Full name  
• Date of birth/age  
• School (if enrolled)
• Telephone #  
• Email address  
• Title and text of the original essay and video  
• Applicant’s social media handles (if applicable)  
• Applicant’s contact information
• Link to the video of you reading your essay on YouTube or other shareable video platform

The competition is for South African youth aged 16-20 residing in South Africa.  

See the contest rules here .

The Bureau of Consular Affairs provides important information on travel to and in South Africa at: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/SouthAfrica.html

We also strongly recommend enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive safety information and be contacted in case of an emergency: https://step.state.gov/step/

A visa is required to enter the United States, and it is highly recommended that this be obtained before paying for air travel and related trip expenses. Applications are made online, and comprehensive instructions and guidance are provided on the site. Begin by visiting our webpage for information https://za.usembassy.gov/visas/ before proceeding to the Global Support Services website to make your visa application https://ais.usvisa-info.com/

The Embassy does fund a number of educational exchange programs that enable South Africans to study in the U.S. Our EducationUSA advisors are also on hand to assist by offering accurate, comprehensive, and current information about opportunities to study at accredited postsecondary institutions.

Visit EducationUSA at: https://za.usembassy.gov/education/

Visit Educational Exchanges at: https://za.usembassy.gov/education/

Be sure to visit our EducationUSA Facebook platform for updates on opportunities and programs: https://www.facebook.com/EducationUSAinSA

Hundreds of South Africans and permanent residents make up our workforce, and vacancies are advertised online for a period of two weeks. Applications are made online, following a registration process. Please visit our 'Jobs at the Embassy' for more information: https://za.usembassy.gov/jobs/

We procure goods and services from local businesses and advertise these opportunities on our 'Commercial Opportunities' pages, along with guidance on the requirements. We also offer funding opportunities to institutions to partner with us to carry out projects and programs. Visit: https://za.usembassy.gov/business/

Use up to three keywords instead of using a full sentence for the best search results.

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NHCS high school students eligible for racial justice essay contest

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The New Hanover County Community Remembrance Project is sponsoring the second essay contest for all 9th-12th grade public high school students in New Hanover County.

The project is being sponsored in conjunction with the Equal Justice Initiative, based in Montgomery, Alabama.

“We conducted a successful essay contest in the 2022-23 school year, in which 8 students from 6 different public high schools in New Hanover won $6000! At least $5,000 prize money will be awarded this year to the winner(s) of this contest. We would like you to make your students aware of this contest. The contest launches September 1, and the final date for entry of an essay is December 15, 2024,” New Hanover County Community Remembrance Project wrote in a press release.

More information about the contest can be found here .

Copyright 2024 WECT. All rights reserved.

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