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The Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California (SCLC-SC)
EMERGING LEADERS 2015-16
THEME: “Bending the Arc and Breaking the Barriers for Justice in the 2016 Presidential Election”
H O W T O E N T E R - B E G I N N I N G D E C E M B E R 1 , 2 0 1 5
Submit one original essay, 1000 to 1500 words in length on the theme above. Submit an original artwork that depicts the 2015-16 theme above.
OR
W H O C A N A P P L Y ?
Any student enrolled in 6th - 8th grade and 9th-12th grade in Southern California
A W A R D S *
The first place winner will receive a $500.00 cash prize.
The second place winner $375.00 cash prize.
The third place winner $125.00 cash prize.
The school with the greatest number of eligible overall entries a $500.00 grant.
*Awards for both Essay and Art Competition, in both age categories for a total of 12 finalists.
NOTE: An entry form must accompany the entry.
D E AD L I N E F OR AL L E N T R I E S 11:59 p.m. on Sunday December 20, 2015
FOR COMPLETE COMPETITION GUIDELINES AND ENTRY FORMS LOG ON TO: Www.sclc-sc.org OR Forms also at: http://tinyurl.com/contestsclc
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SUBMIT ENTRY EMAIL TO BOTH:
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The Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California (SCLC-SC)
EMERGING LEADERS 2015-16
THEME: “Bending the Arc and Breaking the Barriers for Justice in the 2016 Presidential Election”
Guidelines and Rules
A B O U T T H E C O M P E T I T I O N
Each year, The Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California Emerging Leaders Committee sponsors
an essay/oratory competition. This year Art will be added to the contest. Junior and High school students in Southern
California are invited to write an original essay or create an original work of art on the theme: “Bending the Arc and
Breaking the Barriers for Justice in the 2016 Presidential Election”, and compete for cash prizes.
For the Essay/Oratorical component, 25 semifinalists from each age group are selected and invited to recite their essay
January 9th
2016. From this round, 3 finalists from each age group will advance to the finals to determine first, second
and third place winners on January 12, 2016. A Grand Winner will be select from the six finalists and will recite all or a
portion of their essay at the Legacy Gala Benefit Awards Gala January 18, 2016. For the Art component, those submitting
works of art must have their original work available for judging on Jan. 12, 2016.
A first, second, and third place winner will be selected from each age group, for both the Essay/Oratorical and Art
components, and the school with the most overall qualifying applications will receive a $500.00 grant. All finalists will be
recognized at the SCLC-SC Legacy Awards Benefit Gala January 18, 2016. The Grand Essay/Oratorical Winner will
recite all or a portion of their winning essay at the Gala. The Grand Prize Art Winner will have their work displayed at the
Gala.
A B O U T S C L C - S C
In 1964 The Southern Christian Leadership Conference West got its beginnings in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr, Dr. Thomas Kilgore, Jr. and Douglas Dollarhide, the first Black Mayor of Compton, opened the Los
Angeles office, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Los Angeles was formed. SCLC-SC of Southern
California is a community resource, which works to improve the condition of the impoverished. Through wealth
development, community and employment empowerment, technology literacy and access, as well as youth educational
advocacy, we seek to close the economic gap between minorities and mainstream majority. Through the implementation
of Christian ethics, we strive to end hunger and tackle its origin, resulting from economic disenfranchisement. We employ
our skills sets to meet the fundamental needs of the under-served populations in Southern California. We at SCLC-SC
challenge all people of good will, of every persuasion, who believe in the principles espoused by Martin Luther King, Jr. to
join us in our mission.
Guidelines and Rules ( C O N T I N U E D )
W H O C A N A P P L Y :
Any student enrolled in 6th - 8th grade and 9th-12th grade in Southern California
A W A R D S :
The first place winner will receive a $500.00 cash prize.
The second place winner $375.00 cash prize.
The third place winner $125.00 cash prize.
For the school with the greatest overall number of eligible applications a $500.00 grant.
A Grand Prize winner will be selected from both the art and essay categories and will receive a bonus of $100.00
upon the judges discretion.
D E A D L I N E F O R AL L E N T R I E S :
11:59 p.m. on Sunday December 20, 2015
Entries will be accepted beginning December 1, 2015
2 0 1 5 - 1 6 T H E M E : “Bending the Arc and Breaking the Barriers for Justice in the 2016 Presidential Election”
T H E M E B A C K G R O U N D :
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a pivotal figure in shifting the economic as well as the political landscape for
African Americans. He broke many barriers during his lifetime, and continuously fought for the advancement of African
Americans every time he witnessed an injustice. During his lifetime he lobbied elected officials, such as President
Lyndon Baines Johnson to support legislation that would promote the advancement of African Americans. And while his
life was cut short by an assassin’s bullet in 1968, his legacy of pushing for legislation and political activism still survives
through laws such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
African Americans have come a long way since the time of Dr. King, but there is much more work to be done. 2016 is a
pivotal year, as there is a presidential election that will take place to decide who will be the next leader of the free world.
The tragedies of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, and the emergence of the #blacklivesmatter movement have caused a
shift in how African Americans are engaged in politics and civic activism. But there is still some uncertainty about how
the next President will engage the African American community in 2016 and beyond.
Building on the legacy of Dr. King and his political activism, how do you think the next President should engage the
African American community in order to break more barriers on issues such as police brutality, educational barriers and
economic inequality? How can emerging groups such as Black Lives Matter engage the next President of United States?
Are the tactics they employ now effective? If not how can they improve or build upon the momentum they have already
gained?
Guidelines and Rules ( C O N T I N U E D )
I . A . Q U AL I F I C AT I O N S - E S S AY: Applicant must be a student enrolled in the 6th – 12th grade at an accredited junior or high school or accredited
home school program in Southern California on the date on which he or she submits a conforming essay and
application.
Applicant must be a citizen or legal resident of the United States. Each applicant may enter only once and may only
provide one essay on the topic.
Applicants must submit an application form and essay (1000—1500 words) Attention: Juanita Hamilton
[email protected] and also submit a copy to: Jamie Wright [email protected]. You must
send your essay to both individuals in order to qualify. Failure to follow these exact rules will result in
automatic disqualification.
Essays submitted by mail, courier, fax, or any means other than the emails listed will not qualify and will not be
considered.
A maximum of Twenty 25 entries will be selected from each age group to participate in the live semi-finals on
Saturday, January 9th (time and location TBA)
Six entries from each age group will be selected to advance to the Finals Tuesday, January 12th Time and Location
TBA.
SCLC-SC will collect personally identifiable information about applicants as part of the application process. This
information will be used to contact applicants in connection with the essay competition and in announcements,
events, and press releases related to the essay competition and will be provided only to parties related to SCLC-SC
Emerging Leaders, and the applicant’s school and legal guardians.
No personally identifiable information about the applicants will be revealed to any member of the judging committee
at any time during the judging process. Applicants should not include their name, their school’s name, or personally
identifiable information either within the content of the essay or on any pages on which the essay is printed.
Personal information may only be included on the completed application form.
I . B . Q U AL I F I C AT I O N S - AR T: Applicant must be a student enrolled in the 6th – 12th grade at an accredited junior or high school or accredited
home school program in Southern California on the date on which he or she submits a conforming essay and
application.
Applicant must be a citizen or legal resident of the United States. Each applicant may enter only once and may only
provide one Art entry on the topic.
Applicants must submit an application form, bio (150 to 250 words) and high resolution photo of the artwork
Attention: Juanita Hamilton [email protected].
Art entries submitted by mail, courier, fax, or any means other than the competition’s website will not qualify and will
not be considered.
All entrants will present their original artwork for judging January 12, 2016, (time and location TBA)
Six entries from each age group will be selected for 1st, 2
nd and 3
rd place finalists. 1. grand prize winner will be
select from both categories.
SCLC-SC will collect personally identifiable information about applicants as part of the application process. This
information will be used to contact applicants in connection with the essay competition and in announcements,
events, and press releases related to the essay competition and will be provided only to parties related to SCLC-SC
Emerging Leaders, and the applicant’s school and legal guardians.
No personally identifiable information about the applicants will be revealed to any member of the judging committee
at any time during the judging process. Applicants should not include their name, their school’s name, or personally
identifiable information either within the content of the artwork.
Personal information may only be included on the completed application form.
Guidelines and Rules
( C O N T I N U E D )
I I . A . C O N T E S T R U L E S - E S S AY Essays must be 1000 to 1500 words. Footnotes, citations, endnotes, and essay titles will not be counted as part of
the 1,000 – 1,500 words allotted to the applicant.
Applicants must use proper grammar and spelling in the essay and will be penalized for use of improper grammar or
spelling.
Applicants are not permitted to include any forms of media other than plain text in their essays, such as photos,
diagrams, or charts.
Essays must be typed in 12 point Arial font, double spaced.
Applicants may opt to cite external references in their essays, such as statistics or quotes. All external references
must be properly cited as parenthetical citations, footnotes, or endnotes.
Essays must be the original work of the applicant. Essays must neither have been entered in another competition
nor have been published previously in any form or sold for publication.
Essays must not contain material that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others. Any essay that violates
these rules will be disqualified and any awards made for such essay will be rescinded and must be returned to
SCLC-SC..
I I . A . C O N T E S T R U L E S - AR T Civil rights champion Martin Luther King, Jr. once delivered a powerful speech with this resonant line:
1The Arc of the
Moral Universe Is Long but It Bends Toward Justice. You entry should reflect the expanded theme: 1“Bending the
Arc and Breaking the Barriers for Justice in the 2016 Presidential Election”.
Artwork must be 100 percent the student’s original design and if selected Students will be expected to discuss and explain their process to a panel of judges.
What should be included in an effective artist’s bio?
Anyone or anything that has influenced the artist’s artworks.
Any education or training in the field of art.
Any related experience in the field of art.
A summary of the artist’s artistic philosophy.
Any artistic insights or techniques that are employed by the artist.
A short description of what the artist would like to accomplish with their art.
Eligible formats: Paintings, drawing, graphic design, airbrush, mixed media, and sculpture.
Minimum: 32 X 24
Maximum: 39 X 39 * Reference: Theodore Parker was a Unitarian minister and prominent American Transcendentalist born in 1810 who
called for the abolition of slavery. In 1853 a collection of “Ten Sermons of Religion” by Parker was published and the
third sermon titled “Of Justice and the Conscience” included figurative language about the arc of the moral universe. 1
Guidelines and Rules ( C O N T I N U E D )
I I I . A . A W A R D S & J U D G I N G - E S S A Y
Essays will be judged on the following criteria: Creativity & originality, Persuasiveness, Grammar & spelling,
Understanding of the Issue, Relevancy of response to topic question.
The essays will be judged by a committee selected by SCLC-SC Emerging Leaders. 25 from each age group will
advance to Semi-finals held Jan. 9th.
Three finalists in each age group will advance to the final round Jan. 12, 2016.
A first, second, and third place winner will be selected from each group (6 thru 8 grades and 9 thru 12 grades) after
oral presentation at the finals.
The first place winner will receive a $500.00 cash prize. The second $375.00, and third $125.00 cash prizes.
All finalists will be invited to attend the SCLC-SC Gala Awards Benefit January 18, 2016, and will have their essays
published on the SCLC Website.
The schools with the greatest number of eligible applications will receive a $500.00 grant, for a total of 1 winning
school.
I I I . B . A W A R D S & J U D G I N G – A R T
The essays will be judged by a committee selected by SCLC-SC Emerging Leaders. Jan. 12th. Judged on the following:
Interpretation and the clarity of the theme to the viewer.
Creativity and originality of the depicted theme.
Quality of artistic composition and overall design based on the theme.
Overall impression of the art.
What is the effect of the artwork in general and as a whole? Overall, does the artwork stand on its own as a complete and outstanding work of art?
Three finalists in each age group will be selected as finalists.
A first, second, and third place winner will be selected from each group (6 thru 8 grades and 9 thru 12 grades) at the
finals.
The first place winner will receive a $500.00 cash prize. The second $375.00, and third $125.00 cash prizes.
All finalists will be invited to attend the SCLC-SC Gala Awards Benefit January 18, 2016, and will have their artwork
published on the SCLC Website.
The schools with the greatest number of eligible applications in all categories will receive a $500.00 grant, for a total
of 1 winning school.
I V . H O W T O E N T E R
1. Submit your essay or artwork on the topic of “Bending the Arc and Breaking the Barriers for Justice in the 2016
Presidential Election” no less that 1,000 - and no more than 1,500 words. Please read the Official Rules for more
information. Semi-finalists and finalists will read their essays at the semi-final and final round. Your essay should
not be longer than 5 minutes when read.
2. Essays must be submitted as a .doc (Microsoft Word 2003), .docx (Microsoft Word 2007/2010/2013), .odt
(OpenOffice.org), or .txt (plain text) file. Essays submitted in an alternate file format and essays that contain
corrupted data which cannot be opened will not qualify and will not be considered. The file must be under 1.0 MB in
size.
3. Attention: Juanita Hamilton [email protected] and also submit a copy to: Jamie Wright
[email protected]. You must send your essay to both individuals in order to qualify. Failure to
follow these exact rules will result in automatic disqualification.
4. Essays submitted with an incomplete or non-conforming application form or essay, art or bio format or by an
applicant who does not meet the qualifications of the essay competition will not qualify and will not be considered for
any award.
Guidelines and Rules
( C O N T I N U E D )
V. C O N D I T I O N S F O R PAR T I C I PAT I O N All submitted essays and art become the exclusive intellectual property of SCLC-SC Emerging Leaders, and SCLC-
SC obtains all rights to use and republish all or any part of such essays upon submission.
SCLC-SC may use prizewinners’ names, likeness, and other identifying information (such as hometown, school, or
grade) in promotional materials relating to this essay competition.
Winners (or their parents or guardians) will be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility, originality, and compliance
with the official rules, a liability release, and a publicity release as a condition to receiving their Prize.
Winners will be required to have an educator, guidance counselor or other official at his or her accredited school or
accredited home school program submit verification of the winner’s school enrollment on the date of submission.
All taxes shall be the responsibility of the winners of the competition. Winners will be required to submit a completed
IRS Form W-9 to SCLC-SC as a condition to receiving their scholarship.
The Prize will be disbursed to each winner by check by February 1, 2016.
By submitting an application and/or essay to SCLC-SC, the applicant agrees to all of the terms and conditions set
forth in these Official Rules and on SCLC-SC website governing the 2015 SCLC-SC Emerging Leaders Essay
Competition.
V I . M I S C E L L A N E O U S No essay or artwork will be given preference over any other essay on the basis of an applicant’s name, school,
grade, gender, race, ethnicity, geographic origin, or any legally-protected status.
No essay or artwork will be given preference over any other essay on the basis of an applicant ’s ability or inability to
attend the awards Benefit Gala ceremony in January 2016.
Applicant acknowledges that SCLC-SC shall have no liability of any kind as a result of any errors or omissions in the
administration of this essay competition, or any network or website errors or incompatibilities, and by entering this
competition applicant releases any and all claims applicant may have against SCLC-SC in this regard.
No essays, or applications will be returned to applicants. All artwork must be removed at the conclusion of the final
program Jan. 12, 2016.
No notice will be given to applicants with non-winning or non-conforming essays or applications.
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C O N TA C T Juanita Hamilton at [email protected]
Jamie Wright at [email protected]
www.sclc-sc.org
SCLC-SC Information line: 213.268.3082
NOTES: