I Am BLACK HISTORY: Family Traditions
Essay Contest Closed
Essay Contest
BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ and Black History Alliance™
are pleased to present their Annual
“I Am BLACK HISTORY” Essay Contest
are pleased to present their Annual
“I Am BLACK HISTORY” Essay Contest
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Email Submissions to: Priscillahawkins@hotmail.com
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Essay Contest Closed
This essay contest officially begins Monday, October 26, 2020 and ends Friday, December 11, 2020. The contest is open to 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students who attend public, private or charter schools in the nine (9) counties covered by the North Florida/South Georgia BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ program. Schools and students must be located in one of the Florida or Georgia counties listed below.
Florida counties: Leon, Wakulla, Gadsden, Jefferson, Madison and Franklin
Georgia counties: Thomas, Grady and Decatur
PRIZE WINNERS
One (1) First-place
One (1) Second-place
One (1) Third-place
Essays for each grade (5th, 6th and 7th) will be selected - for a total of nine (9) winning essays.
All essay contest winners will be notified by their school principals in mid-January 2020.
Each first-place winner will be invited to attend the BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ Kickoff Reception, Monday, February 1, 2021 to read his/her essay; along with his/her parent or guardian, and principal
PRIZES
First-place winners in each grade will receive a cash prize of $100 each.
Second-place winners in each grade will receive a cash prize of $50 each.
Third-place winners in each grade will receive a cash prize of $25 each.
Cash prizes will be provided by and presented to all winners at the BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ Kickoff Reception on Monday, February 1, 2021.
All three (3) first-place winners will be asked to read their winning essays at the BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ Kickoff Reception on Monday, February 1, 2021.
Additional prizes may be added before Monday, February 1, 2021.
ENTRY SUBMISSION DEADLINE DATE
This essay contest officially ends Friday, December 11th at 11:59pm. All submissions MUST be submitted ON-LINE at BHMFtally.com. At midnight, December 11th, the submission site will no longer accept any entries.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES * RULES * REQUIREMENTS
Entries for the annual “I Am BLACK HISTORY” Essay Contest must be based on
Family Traditions
A Family Tradition is a custom or belief that has been passed down from one generation to another -or- a recently started tradition that your family hopes will continue for years to come. It can be something as simple as a common way of doing things within your family or a belief or story handed down in your family about an ancestor, item or place – something considered part of your family's legacy. It may be about an individual, incident of bravery, historical event, family home, land or other family traditions.
Traditions often enhance or strengthen family bonds and create fond memories. Those traditions could be stories that are told year after year during the holidays, family games or activities that are fun, or rituals handed down from generation to generation.
For this essay contest, you may describe (in 250 words or fewer) a family tradition as it relates to Black culture that illustrates a fond memory for you. Or you may interview a family member or Black person in your community about a family tradition and share the interview in essay format. While family members or others may help the student with the content of the essay, the student must write his/her own essay. If there is any evidence that suggests anyone other than the student wrote the essay, the student will be disqualified.
GUIDELINES
All essay contest submissions must be provided on-line at the BHMFtally.com no later than Friday, December 11, 2020 at 11:59/pm. Essay entries must be no more than 250 words.
Students who submit an essay must be currently enrolled at the time of entry in 5th, 6th, or 7th grade at a public, private or charter school in one of the nine (9) listed counties.
Each student must submit his/her entry with the subject heading “Student Essay” with the grade they are currently enrolled in. SEE EXAMPLES below –
Student Essay/Grade 5 -OR- Student Essay/Grade 6 -OR- Student Essay/Grade 7
The essay may be typed, or copier/printer generated, or hand-printed legibly in pencil or ink. Hand-printed entries must be written in print, not cursive.
All essay entries MUST BE THE ORIGINAL WORK of the student whose name appears on the entry form. Plagiarism is NOT allowed.
NEW GUIDELINES for 2021 Submissions
Students who submitted an entry for February 2020 may submit a new essay for February 2021. All submissions must be a new entry, and not the same one submitted for February 2020 – although the new entry may focus on the same subject or event.
Students who won a prize at any level in February 2020 may also submit a new essay for February 2021. However, the student CANNOT resubmit their previous winning essay.
Children who are relatives of our essay contest judges, BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ Advisory Council, Black History Alliance™ Council, subcommittee members, sponsors or program partners may also submit entries, and are eligible to win prizes – because all submissions will be provided to judges with no names or photos.
Only one essay per student will be accepted. Essays shall be no more than 250 words.
PHOTO
A photo of the student must accompany his/her essay submission. ONLY ONE photo may be uploaded with your essay. Photos must be uploaded to BHMFtally.com with the essay.
To opt-out of the photo submission, the student's parent/guardian must sign the opt-out section of the signature form.
ANY ENTRY THAT DOES NOT MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS
WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED
JUDGING CRITERIA FOR ESSAY ENTRIES
Essay entries will be judged on appeal of the family tradition story, originality, creativity and clarity of expression.
Whether the story is dramatic or humorous – judges will be looking for the traditions in African American families that occur and bind the family. Stories can be about family dining traditions; daily, weekly, monthly or yearly gatherings: funny events that are part of family history; events that include more than one generation (children, parents, grandparents and others); or any Black cultural tradition that tells your family story.
Each essay will be evaluated using a blind judging process. A blind judging process removes the names, photos and any identifying information from the essay BEFORE the submissions are sent to the judges. The judges will award points based on a set of objective criteria including descriptive language, grammar, diction, creativity and originality.
JUDGES
Judges for the “I Am BLACK HISTORY” Essay Contest will include members of the BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ Advisory Council and Black History Alliance™ Council who are professional educators and other individuals whose backgrounds are suitable to serve as judges for this contest.
This essay contest officially begins Monday, October 26, 2020 and ends Friday, December 11, 2020. The contest is open to 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students who attend public, private or charter schools in the nine (9) counties covered by the North Florida/South Georgia BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ program. Schools and students must be located in one of the Florida or Georgia counties listed below.
Florida counties: Leon, Wakulla, Gadsden, Jefferson, Madison and Franklin
Georgia counties: Thomas, Grady and Decatur
PRIZE WINNERS
One (1) First-place
One (1) Second-place
One (1) Third-place
Essays for each grade (5th, 6th and 7th) will be selected - for a total of nine (9) winning essays.
All essay contest winners will be notified by their school principals in mid-January 2020.
Each first-place winner will be invited to attend the BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ Kickoff Reception, Monday, February 1, 2021 to read his/her essay; along with his/her parent or guardian, and principal
PRIZES
First-place winners in each grade will receive a cash prize of $100 each.
Second-place winners in each grade will receive a cash prize of $50 each.
Third-place winners in each grade will receive a cash prize of $25 each.
Cash prizes will be provided by and presented to all winners at the BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ Kickoff Reception on Monday, February 1, 2021.
All three (3) first-place winners will be asked to read their winning essays at the BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ Kickoff Reception on Monday, February 1, 2021.
Additional prizes may be added before Monday, February 1, 2021.
ENTRY SUBMISSION DEADLINE DATE
This essay contest officially ends Friday, December 11th at 11:59pm. All submissions MUST be submitted ON-LINE at BHMFtally.com. At midnight, December 11th, the submission site will no longer accept any entries.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES * RULES * REQUIREMENTS
Entries for the annual “I Am BLACK HISTORY” Essay Contest must be based on
Family Traditions
A Family Tradition is a custom or belief that has been passed down from one generation to another -or- a recently started tradition that your family hopes will continue for years to come. It can be something as simple as a common way of doing things within your family or a belief or story handed down in your family about an ancestor, item or place – something considered part of your family's legacy. It may be about an individual, incident of bravery, historical event, family home, land or other family traditions.
Traditions often enhance or strengthen family bonds and create fond memories. Those traditions could be stories that are told year after year during the holidays, family games or activities that are fun, or rituals handed down from generation to generation.
For this essay contest, you may describe (in 250 words or fewer) a family tradition as it relates to Black culture that illustrates a fond memory for you. Or you may interview a family member or Black person in your community about a family tradition and share the interview in essay format. While family members or others may help the student with the content of the essay, the student must write his/her own essay. If there is any evidence that suggests anyone other than the student wrote the essay, the student will be disqualified.
GUIDELINES
All essay contest submissions must be provided on-line at the BHMFtally.com no later than Friday, December 11, 2020 at 11:59/pm. Essay entries must be no more than 250 words.
Students who submit an essay must be currently enrolled at the time of entry in 5th, 6th, or 7th grade at a public, private or charter school in one of the nine (9) listed counties.
Each student must submit his/her entry with the subject heading “Student Essay” with the grade they are currently enrolled in. SEE EXAMPLES below –
Student Essay/Grade 5 -OR- Student Essay/Grade 6 -OR- Student Essay/Grade 7
The essay may be typed, or copier/printer generated, or hand-printed legibly in pencil or ink. Hand-printed entries must be written in print, not cursive.
All essay entries MUST BE THE ORIGINAL WORK of the student whose name appears on the entry form. Plagiarism is NOT allowed.
NEW GUIDELINES for 2021 Submissions
Students who submitted an entry for February 2020 may submit a new essay for February 2021. All submissions must be a new entry, and not the same one submitted for February 2020 – although the new entry may focus on the same subject or event.
Students who won a prize at any level in February 2020 may also submit a new essay for February 2021. However, the student CANNOT resubmit their previous winning essay.
Children who are relatives of our essay contest judges, BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ Advisory Council, Black History Alliance™ Council, subcommittee members, sponsors or program partners may also submit entries, and are eligible to win prizes – because all submissions will be provided to judges with no names or photos.
Only one essay per student will be accepted. Essays shall be no more than 250 words.
PHOTO
A photo of the student must accompany his/her essay submission. ONLY ONE photo may be uploaded with your essay. Photos must be uploaded to BHMFtally.com with the essay.
To opt-out of the photo submission, the student's parent/guardian must sign the opt-out section of the signature form.
ANY ENTRY THAT DOES NOT MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS
WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED
JUDGING CRITERIA FOR ESSAY ENTRIES
Essay entries will be judged on appeal of the family tradition story, originality, creativity and clarity of expression.
Whether the story is dramatic or humorous – judges will be looking for the traditions in African American families that occur and bind the family. Stories can be about family dining traditions; daily, weekly, monthly or yearly gatherings: funny events that are part of family history; events that include more than one generation (children, parents, grandparents and others); or any Black cultural tradition that tells your family story.
Each essay will be evaluated using a blind judging process. A blind judging process removes the names, photos and any identifying information from the essay BEFORE the submissions are sent to the judges. The judges will award points based on a set of objective criteria including descriptive language, grammar, diction, creativity and originality.
JUDGES
Judges for the “I Am BLACK HISTORY” Essay Contest will include members of the BLACK HISTORY MONTH FESTIVAL™ Advisory Council and Black History Alliance™ Council who are professional educators and other individuals whose backgrounds are suitable to serve as judges for this contest.
Judges
Jeanne Manning
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Mr. Rigsby:
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Mrs. A. Turner:
• Classroom Educator (38 years) • Participant: Reading for a Pilot Reading Program (Open Court 3 years) • Teaching Educators “Effective Reading Practices” (15 years) • Reading Intervention Specialist - (LCS/FCRR Reading Intervention Specialist - Title 1 Schools (2years) • Reading Coach (2 years) • President Conley Elementary PTO (1year) • Vice President Conley Elementary PTO (2 years) |
Essay Contest Committee Members
Carole Curry
Marcus Nicolas
Shauna Smith
Marcus Nicolas
Shauna Smith
QUESTIONS or ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Call or Text 850-879-9282
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Email Submissions to: Priscillahawkins@hotmail.com
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