Charleston, WV (WOAY) – The Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission and Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs (HHOMA) invite West Virginia students to create original artwork celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy.
The 2023 Project on Racism contest accepts entries for essays, music, and five-minute films.
Any student from grades 1-12 attending public, private, parochial, or home school in West Virginia is eligible to enter.
Students under 20 enrolled in a high school correspondence / Test Assessing Secondary Completion program also qualify to compete.
All entries must focus on the following quote from Martin Luther King Jr. “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”
Applicants can send submissions through the U.S. Postal Service, fax, email, or hand delivery. Each entry must include a completed contact information form and the original work. All entries in this category are due before midnight on November 14, 2022.
The Commission will announce winners before the end of December 2022 and invite them to participate in the Martin Luther King, Jr. State Holiday Commission Awards Luncheon on January 14, 2023.
The Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission and the Beta Beta Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, present the 39th annual poster competition.
West Virginia students from grades K 12 may enter the poster contest. The art must focus on the quote from Martin Luther King J”.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Posters must incorporate the quote. Although the artwork must be original, teachers may assist students in developing original slogans or captions used in the poster.
The entry may be in any format. The artist must explain the style and the selected media on the entry form, which should be included in the back of the artwork. Entries without this information will be disqualified.
Submissions in this category must be postmarked on or before Thursday, December 1. Judging begins on December 2.
Winning entries will be on display at the Great Hall of the West Virginia State Culture Center from January 2023 to February 2023.
The Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission will also create a 2023 calendar using the winning entries from the poster contest, and winners will be invited to participate in the January 14, 2023 Awards Luncheon.
Contact form, contest rules, and submission instructions can be found here.
For guidelines and entry forms for all the contests, visit the MLK Commission website at minorityaffairs.wv.gov.
