2025 Theme:
Voices of Courage Stories of Resistance & Resilience in the African Diaspora

When: Feb 28th @ 10am | Where: Black History Museum & Cultural Center | Entry Fee: $15 | Entry Deadline: January 31, 2025

CASH PRIZE: $150

How to Participate:

1. Register: Please complete the form below, and also pay the $15 fee using the link in the form, by January 31, 2025.  

2. Prepare: 

1. Option 1:  Select a topic that aligns with the theme and craft your speech. Speeches should be 3-5 minutes long. 

2. Option 2:  Recite a speech delivered by a person of African descent that was impactful to you.  Speeches should be 3-5 minutes long. 

3. Present: Arrive at the venue 30 minutes early, ready to present your speech to an enthusiastic audience and a panel of esteemed judges. Business attire is required.  

Rules:

1. Eligibility: Contestants must be high school students in grades 8-12.

2. Preparation: Contestants must prepare an original oration or select a speech given by a person of African descent on a topic related to the theme of the contest.

3. Time Limit: Speeches should be between 3 to 5 minutes long.

4. Delivery: Contestants must deliver their speech without the use of notes, props, or electronic devices. Singing or the use of unauthorized aids will result in disqualification.

5. Language: The majority of the speech must be in English, but short phrases in other languages are allowed if properly attributed.

6. Quotations: Quotations longer than 10 words must be cited orally.

7. Evaluation Criteria:  

1. Content:

1. Relevance: How well does the speech relate to the theme?

2. Delivery:

1. Voice: Clarity, volume, and modulation of the speaker's voice.

2. Articulation: Pronunciation and enunciation of words.

3. Pace: Appropriate speed of speech; not too fast or too slow.

4. Body Language: Effective use of gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact.

5. Emotional Appeal: Ability to engage the audience's emotions and connect with them.

3. Impact: 

1. Engagement: How well does the speaker capture and maintain the audience's attention?

2. Memorability: Is the speech memorable and thought-provoking?

3. Overall Impression: General impression of the speech and its delivery.

4. Adherence to Rules:

1. Time Limit: Adherence to the specified time limit.

2. Quotations: Proper citation and use of quotations.

3. Language: Appropriateness of language used.

Join us 2/9/23 at 8:00PM for this special zoom session! Yolanda Williams is the woman behind Parenting Decolonized. A single mom, racial justice educator, and Positive Discipline Coach, she empowers parents with tools to decolonize their mindsets and divest from white supremacy in order to raise the next generation of emotionally-well, liberated, free-thinkers and in the process, form deeper more intentional relationships with their children.

Register today and you will receive a link closer to the date of the event.

Third session of three session (July 9, 16, 23) workshop - 11-2pm

Each session buildings upon the last. Youth will learn African history of weaving and create on handcrafted looms. $30 per session, per youth, due at least 48 hours in advance of each session.

Workshop located in Short Pump area, address will be sent out 24 hours in advance.

Limited spaces, register today using the button below!

Samples of Kwasi Asare’s work can be found here: https://kwasiasare.com/

Second session of three session (July 9, 16, 23) workshop - 11-2pm

Each session buildings upon the last. Youth will learn African history of weaving and create on handcrafted looms. $30 per session, per youth, due at least 48 hours in advance of each session.

Workshop located in Short Pump area, address will be sent out 24 hours in advance.

Limited spaces, register today using the button below!

Samples of Kwasi Asare’s work can be found here: https://kwasiasare.com/

First session of three session (July 9, 16, 23) workshop - 11-2pm

Each session buildings upon the last. Youth will learn African history of weaving and create on handcrafted looms. $30 per session, per youth, due at least 48 hours in advance of each session.

Workshop located in Short Pump area, address will be sent out 24 hours in advance.

Limited spaces, register today using the button below!

Samples of Kwasi Asare’s work can be found here: https://kwasiasare.com/

Use the button to pay, register and reserve your spot. You will be emailed a private Zoom link two days prior to the event.

Recommended Audience Age: 7-12

The ABCs of the Black Panther Party introduces and gives an overview of the Black Panther Party for children (suggested ages 7-12), acts as a catalyst for research, supports the expansion of their oral and written language and helps to develop the social political consciousness of our children.

This book utilizes the American alphabet to lay a foundational understanding of the aims of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, discussing the impact of various members and the lasting effect of the Black Power Movement of the 1960s. It is our hope to empower the next generation of leaders to help build strong communities of color focused on Positive Racial Identity Development through Education (PRIDE).

Fueled by their undying love of the people, the Black Panther Party at their height had chapters in 68 American cities and an international chapter in Algeria, with the largest number of members in Oakland-San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and Philadelphia.

Today we see a revival in the work of the Black Panther Party with The Black Lives Matter Movement.

We are reclaiming our sheroes and heroes and providing our young with a blueprint for their own liberation movement.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

Chemay Morales-James, founder of My Reflection Matters, & Khalilah Brann, founder of Culturally Responsive Educators of the African Diaspora bring you one of the first children’s book that shares the story of the Panthers from an anti-oppressive perspective.

Use the button to pay, register and reserve your spot. You will be emailed a private Zoom link two days prior to the event.

Recommended Audience Age: 12-18

THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS

A graphic novel biography of the escaped slave, abolitionist, public speaker, and most photographed man of the nineteenth century, based on his autobiographical writings and speeches, spotlighting the key events and people that shaped the life of this great American.

Recently returned to the cultural spotlight, Frederick Douglass’s impact on American history is felt even in today’s current events. Comic book writer and filmmaker David F. Walker joins with the art team of Damon Smyth and Marissa Louise to bring the long, exciting, and influential life of Douglass to life in comic book form. Taking you from Douglass’s life as a young slave through his forbidden education to his escape and growing prominence as a speaker, abolitionist, and influential cultural figure during the Civil War and beyond, The Life of Frederick Douglass presents a complete illustrated portrait of the man who stood up and spoke out for freedom and equality. Along the way, special features provide additional background on the history of slavery in the United States, the development of photography (which would play a key role in the spread of Douglass’s image and influence), and the Civil War. Told from Douglass’s point of view and based on his own writings, The Life of Frederick Douglass provides an up-close-and-personal look at a history-making American who was larger than life.

THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY

A bold and fascinating graphic novel history of the revolutionary Black Panther Party.

Founded in Oakland, California, in 1966, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was a radical political organization that stood in defiant contrast to the mainstream civil rights movement. This gripping illustrated history explores the impact and significance of the Panthers, from their social, educational, and healthcare programs that were designed to uplift the Black community to their battle against police brutality through citizen patrols and frequent clashes with the FBI, which targeted the Party from its outset.

Using dramatic comic book-style retellings and illustrated profiles of key figures, The Black Panther Party captures the major events, people, and actions of the party, as well as their cultural and political influence and enduring legacy.

DAVID F. WALKER is an award-winning comic book writer, filmmaker, journalist, and educator. Walker is best known for his work in comics, including Shaft: A Complicated Man (Dynamite Entertainment), winner of the 2015 Glyph Award for Story of the Year, and its sequel, Shaft: Imitation of Life. His work for Marvel Comics includes Luke Cage, Occupy Avengers, Power Man and Iron Fist, Nighthawk, Fury, and Deadpool. He’s also worked for DC Comics (Cyborg), Boom! (Planet of the Apes), and IDW/Monkeybrain (The Army of Dr. Moreau). He is the creator of the prose YA series The Adventures of Darius Logan, and author of the novel Shaft’s Revenge, the first new novel starring the iconic black detective in more than forty years.

Come join us this Monday, May 3rd at 11:00 (masks required) as we present the check to the Pocahontas Island Black History Museum! Our little documentary helped fundraise $3500 for Mr. Stewart and the museum.

Use the button to pay, register and reserve your spot.

Suggested Audience: All Ages

Theodore Taylor III is an artist living in Richmond, Virginia with his wife Sarah and son Theo. During the day he works as a front-end web developer while also maintaining a career as a children’s book illustrator in his free time. His work is inspired by his love of music, comics, animation, video games, street art and more. He is also a self-proclaimed pizza connoisseur. 

In 2014 he received the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award for his work in When The Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Here and the Creation of Hip Hop. In 2015 the book also won the Texas Bluebonnet Award.

He is represented by HGLiterary.

Use the button to pay, register and reserve your spot.

Suggested Audience: Upper Elementary

Corinne La Mer claims she isn't afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. She knows that jumbies are make-believe characters from Haitian folklore, just something parents use as a way to scare their kids. But on All Hallows' Eve, Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden woods. Those shining yellow eyes that follow her to the edge of the trees, they couldn't possibly belong to a jumbie...could they?

Corinne begins to notice odd occurrences after that night. First she spots a beautiful stranger speaking to the town witch at the market. Then this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne's house, cooking dinner for, and bewitching, her father. Danger is in the air. Sure enough, bewitching Corinne's father is the first step in Severine's plan to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn't know she possessed to stop Severine and to save her island home.

Use the button to pay, register and reserve your spot.

Suggested Audience: Middle School

It’s 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police deputy won’t stop harassing her family. With school integration arriving in South Carolina, Jez and her twin brother, Jay, are about to begin the school year with a bunch of new kids. But the biggest change comes when Jez and Jay turn eleven— and their uncle, Doc, tells them he’s going to train them in rootwork.

Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of their family for generations—especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make for the people on their island. But Jez soon finds out that her family’s true power goes far beyond small charms and elixirs…and not a moment too soon. Because when evil both natural and supernatural comes to show itself in town, it’s going to take every bit of the magic she has inside her to see her through.

Join us as we briefly discuss the meaning of the Sankofa bird and paint this lovely picture. This is youth/ family friendly and all are welcome to paint. $15pp. Enjoy the music of West Africa, cupcakes, juice, and mini-swag. No tickets will be sold at the door. Must pay in advance: This is also a fundraiser for the Homeschooling In Color RVA Conference. $2 per ticket sales will be donated to that effort. Cashapp: $Alycw Send message for other pymt method requests.

Our middle schoolers teamed up to create 3 short films for this year’s 60 Second Film Festival in Richmond, VA. Please join us for our 60 second movie debuts!

Join our co-op as we set up a table at this event to discuss our community activism efforts.

Zyahna Bryant and other special guests for an afternoon of conversation and activities centering the history and future of student activism in Virginia and beyond. Zyahna will be discussing her book “Reclaim.” and her work in Charlottesville petitioning to take down the Robert E. Lee statue in 2016. She will also be hosting a workshop on civic engagement for youth in middle and high school. The event is a drop-in format (come when you'd like, and stay as long as you'd like), free and open to the public. No pre-registration is required. Guests will be encouraged to visit the VMHC's exhibition, "Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality," on display through March 29 and in which, Zyahna is featured. Tentative Schedule: 2:00-2:30 Welcome and Introduction by Karen Sherry, curator of "Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality" 3:00 - 3:45 Talk and Q&A by Zyahna Bryant 4:00-4:45 Panel Conversation and Q&A About Zyahna Bryant: Zyahna Bryant (University of Virginia) is an award-winning student activist, community organizer, and author who published her first book, a collection of poetry and essays titled, “Reclaim.” in January of 2019. Zyahna founded the Charlottesville High School Black Student Union at the age of 14. In the spring of 2016, Zyahna wrote the petition calling for the removal of Confederate statues from Charlottesville’s parks, and City Council voted to remove them in 2017. Zyahna was recently appointed as the youngest member of Virginia’s African American Advisory Board. She will work to advise Governor Northam on issues that impact African Americans across the commonwealth. Zyahna also serves as the youngest member President’s Council for UVA-Community Partnership where she hopes to amplify the work of student leaders and grassroots organizers who are actively working to bridge the gap between the Charlottesville community and the University. She was recently named as a member of Teen Vogue’s 21 under 21 class of 2019. Zyahna has been featured in The New York Times, National Geographic, The New Yorker Magazine, Forbes; and featured on Vice News, PBS, CNN, and BET. In 2018, she was awarded the Princeton Prize in Race Relations and the Bassett Award for Community Engagement from Yale University. Zyahna has served as a Student School Board Representative for the Charlottesville City Schools division and is a passionate advocate for educational equity.

We will meet at 10:00 for a program on this historical Black Cemetery. There will be a tour of famous Black Richmonders, the significance of Black cemeteries, and explore ideas we can create an ongoing service activity to support its efforts. We will wrap up with doing some mild work in the cemetery to possibly include recording tombstone information, cleaning away brush, etc.

Wear closed toe shoes. Appropriate for all ages. We are asking a $3 donation per family to give to the Friends and Family of the East End Cemetery, which is responsible for the upkeep of the grounds. Join us!