Contest Submissions
‘The celebration improved my children a hundred percent. I wish we could have Negro History Week throughout the year. Let the good work go on. Under your leadership we shall some day appreciate our interesting past and be thereby stimulated to greater endeavor.’
- –A teacher told Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926, following the first Negro History Week
2026 Theme
“An American Milestone: Celebrating the Centennial of Negro History Week/Black History Month, 1926-2026”
Contact
Corey Cunningham, Associate Director, Student Life, cunningha189@marshall.edu
Dr. Gregory Breeden, Chair, Essay Committee, breedeng@marshall.edu
– Or –
Professor Burnis Morris, Director, Woodson Lyceum, morrisb@marshall.edu.
Eligibility
All college and university students are eligible.
Winning Prize
- The first-place winner receives $250.
- Winners are expected to attend the ceremony honoring their work on January 30, 2026.
- Winners may be invited to present their essays during the Centennial Symposium March 5-7.
DEADLINE
ESSAYS…BY 5 P.M., NOVEMBER 21, 2025
Criteria
How Essays Will Be Judged
- Extent to which students effectively express the significance of the theme.
- Correct spelling, grammar usage and sentence structure.
- Quality of the research. Citations are encouraged.
- Length of the essay. Students may write 1,000 words or more, double-spaced with numbered pages.
- Organization, argument and conclusion. The jury will also consider these factors.
- Separate statement of 100 words about what the student learned in conducting research about the topic.
- Students 18 and over or the parent or guardian of a student under 18 must sign the required consent form and grant The Woodson Lyceum/Marshall University the right to use and publicize the winning entry.
Please note the following requirements:
- Insert the student’s name and grade level on the top left of each page (line 1).
- Page setup should be 1-inch margins, and text should be double-spaced using 12-point font in Times New Roman. Essays should be submitted only in Microsoft Word.
- Create a name for the Word doc to be attached in this style: Your Lastname_BlackHistoryEssay_2026 (Example: Morris_BlackHistoryEssay_2026).
- Do not forget to include on a separate page at least 100 words for the statement about what you learned about Black History during your research for the essay. Label it “STATEMENT” to make it easy for jurors to find.
- Please download, fill out and sign the Consent Form. Once filled out, please photograph or scan the form so that it may be uploaded with your poster.