The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Unity Breakfast

Essay Contest

Theme:

“Uniting to Complete the Unfinished Agenda

 in Civil and Human Rights”

WHO MAY ENTER:  The contest is open to all students in grades 10-12 in all public, private, and parochial high schools of Metropolitan Birmingham. (Students must enter the contest through their local schools, and only one entry per school will be accepted into the final round of competition.  See below.)

HOW TO ENTER:   Each school will conduct its own contest among as many students as possible and then select one individual winning essay from that school to be submitted to the area-wide contest.  Each school may submit only one essay to the final round. 

CONTEST DEADLINE: Friday, December 10, 2004

Each school’s winning essay must be submitted by the above date to:

                                    The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest

                                    c/o  The National Conference for Community and Justice

                                    P.O. Box 55911

                                    Birmingham, AL  35255-5911

             ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS:   No later than Monday, January 10, 2005.  Final round awards to be presented at the Unity Breakfast on January 17, 2005.

Contest Information for Teachers and School Sponsors

1. In the fall of each year, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Unity Breakfast sponsors an essay contest in honor of the Dr. King Holiday the following January.

2. Copies of these Official Guidelines are mailed to school principals in the metropolitan Birmingham area.  Individual teachers interested in sponsoring a contest in their classes may call Robert Montgomery at 326-6821 or Lemarse Washington at 322-4100 to receive a copy. 

3.  The intent of the Essay Contest is

·         to provide all students in each area high school with an opportunity to learn about Dr. King, his message and his work; 

·         to give students opportunity to reflect on our present and the future in light of Dr. King’s message; and

·         to encourage continued study through financial awards that can hopefully help students continue their lives and education with a permanent appreciation for Dr. King.

4.  SUGGESTED READING:  All entrants should be encouraged to read at least one of Dr. King's essays or speeches in preparation for entering the contest.  The breakfast committee recommends the following readings in light of the theme for this year.  These are suggested as a help to students not as a requirement.                                      

                        Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)

                                I Have A Dream  (1963)

                                The Power of Nonviolence (1958)    

                                The Trumpet of Conscience (1967)

                                Why We Can’t Wait (1963)--Dr. King’s own account of his work in Birmingham                     

Many of Dr. King's writings can be found in A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by James M. Washington, Harper and Row, Publishers.  

5.  THE THEME FOR ALL ESSAYS must be:                                                      

“Uniting to Complete the Unfinished Agenda in Civil and Human Rights”

6. RATIONALE FOR THE SELECTION OF THIS YEAR’S THEME: 

In August of 1967, Dr. King made what was ultimately his last report as President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization he founded in order to pursue full civil and human rights for all people.  In that report, which highlighted the basic themes of his book, Where Do We Go From Here?  Chaos or Community published that same year, Dr. King reviewed much of what he saw as the unfinished agenda less than a year before his death.  His mind focused on the dangers of racism, consumerism and war.  He listed several of the areas where he believed the work remained. 

Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort from the inner city of poverty and despair shall be crushed by the battering rams of the forces of justice.  Let us be dissatisfied until those who live on the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of daily security.  Let us be dissatisfied until slums are cast into the junk heaps of history and every family will live in a decent, sanitary home.  Let us be dissatisfied until the dark yesterdays of segregated schools will be transformed into bright tomorrows of quality, integrated education...Let us be dissatisfied until all men will recognize that out of one blood God made all people to dwell upon the face of the earth.  –Report to SCLC, August 16, 1967.

These areas of American and global social life were only some of the concerns that Dr. King laid out for those who were listening to him in 1967 and for those who celebrate his life today.           

7. ESSAY FORMAT       (Please read carefully)

                                    a. Each essay should be between 500-750 words, typewritten, double-spaced on white, 8½ X 11 paper. Each page should be numbered consecutively.  Entries should be stapled securely together, not paper-clipped.

b. Each entry must include a title page containing the following information:  (This information should appear only on the title page since the essays will be judged with this page removed.)     

1. The Title: “Uniting to Complete the Unfinished Agenda in Civil and Human Rights”

                                    2. Name, home address and phone number of contestant, age and grade.             

                                        3. Name and address of school.   (One final round essay from each school is allowed.)

                        4. Signature and typed full name of principal and phone number.

5. Signature and typed full name of teacher or other official sponsor of the school’s contest.

8.  DEADLINE:  Essays must be postmarked by December 10, 2004 and mailed to

                                    The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest

                                    P.O. Box 55911

                                    Birmingham, AL  35255-5911

9.  TEACHER ASSISTANCE:   The essay should be the work of the student.  Teachers may offer suggestions for improvement or correction, but all content should be the student’s own thinking and all writing must be done by the student.

10. CRITERIA FOR JUDGING:

            Content--Interpretation of and adherence to the subject               30%

            Expression--Choice of words, imagery, and style                         30%

            Form--Organization, neatness, and presentation                           10%

            Mechanics--Grammar, spelling, and punctuation                          10%

            Overall Presentation-- Interest, appeal, clarity, and

                     adherence to contest rules                                                 20%

                                                                                                            100%

Essays are judged carefully on the basis of these criteria and compliance with the rules of the contest.  A panel of five judges will select the final winners.  The judges do not know the entrants’ names or schools at the time of judging. 

11.  AWARDS:   Awards for the top three winning essays in the area-wide contest will be presented at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Unity Breakfast on January 17, 2005, to be held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center.

            The awards will be:

                                                First Place:                    $1,500 scholarship award

                                                Second Place:               $1,000 scholarship award

                                                Third Place:                     $750 scholarship award

            All other individual school winners will receive a $100 award and be a guest at the Breakfast.

12.  PUBLICATION PERMISSION:   By entering the contest, students give their permission for their essays to be finally formatted and printed in the program for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Unity Breakfast, as well as to be distributed to the community and the media.