What Juneteenth Means (To Me) 8-12th Grade Poetry Contest:
In celebration of the new federal Juneteenth holiday, this is a 2023 poetry contest for grades 8-12 to encourage young writers in Texas to explore the events that make this day in Texas and American history such a stirring and significant one. The submission period will run from Feb. 1 to March 22, 2023. Individual schools will submit 1-3 nominated poems to be considered by our first read screeners, who will then forward them to our distinguished five Final Judges.
There will be a public reading and award ceremony at the Neill-Cochran Museum in Austin for the winners and honorable mentions. The judges, screeners, top three winners and seven honorable mentions will all receive honorariums and copies of Pulitzer Prize winner Annette Reed’s book On Juneteenth and Juneteenth: The Story Behind the Celebration by Edward Cotham Jr.
PrIZES and CEREMony:
1st place: $750
2nd place: $500
3rd place: $250
7 Honorable Mentions: $100
Each of the 10 winners will also receive a travel stipend to attend the ceremony.
The ceremony will take place at the Neill-Cochran House Museum in Austin, Texas on Saturday, May 20th, at 10AM. The Neill-Cochran House Museum is located in the heart of Austin, TX, just a few minutes walk from the UT-Austin campus. It stewards one of the city’s oldest residences (1856), including Austin’s only intact slave quarters. It sponsors regular African American Programming.
Upcoming exhibitions: February 24, 2021: Telling the Untold Story: Cathay Williams—The Only Female Buffalo Soldier by Sarah Bird, Thursday, February 24, 2022 | 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM CST Mar 27, 2022, Modern Times: The Power Of Persistence The Shankville Freedom Colony Story.
How to Submit:
Submissions will be open between Feb 1st and March 22th and can be sent to us at WhatJuneteenthMeans@gmail.com. Please send one poem as an attachment in a .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. Along with your poem, please also include your name, age, location, and the name of the school you attend.
WHAT JUNETEENTH MEANS (TO ME) 