Martin Luther King jr. Essay Contest

sponsored by First Missionary Baptist Church Scholarship Ministry

Eligibility

Contest open to Grades 5-8 and 9-12

Theme: "Advancing the Dream"

Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech speaks to peace, justice, and equality that he wanted to see for all. For your essay, please write about your dream for this nation and how it will continue to move us closer to fulfilling Dr. King’s dream.

Or Chose one of the six statements “I Have a Dream” and write how you have seem this being live out today.

Grades 4-8: Word Count: 300-500

Grades 9-12: Word Count:800-1000

Guidelines

ATTENTION: The deadline has been extended!! New deadline is January 9th.

1. Only one entry per student is allowed.

2. The first three lines of the essay should be the title, the name of student, and the grade classification, followed by a double space, then the essay.

3. The essay must be the original work of the student, meet the word count assigned to the grade division, and be typed, double spaced, in a 12-point font size.

4. Students must submit essays by Monday, January 9th 2023 @ 11:59PM No late entries will be accepted.

5. Essay must not contain any slang, vulgar language or racial slurs

Submitting Your Entry

To enter the contest, follow the steps below to fill out the entry form:

  1. type your essay into any word processing program like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, or even an email to yourself

  2. save the essay

  3. fill out the entry form linked at the button below

  4. copy your essay to the clipboard, paste it into the essay response window on the entry form, and then format it .

  • select the entire essay

  • make it 12 point font

  • make it double spaced

  1. submit the form entry

Direct any questions or correspondence about the contest to: franklinessaycompetition@gmail.com

Judging & Prizes

Prizes will include:

5-8th Grades – 1st Place/ $250.00/2nd Place $150.00/3rd Place $100.00 place winners will be recognized at the MLK Celebration event on January, 16, 2023.

9-12th Grades –1st Place/ $250.00/2nd Place $150.00/3rd Place $100.00 place winners will be recognized at the MLK Celebration event on January, 16, 2023.