DepartmentofCivilRights
350S.FifthSt.-Room239
Minneapolis,MN55415
TEL 612.673.3012
COMMISSIONONCIVILRIGHTS
MariamMokri
Chair
Office612673.3012
Fax612673.2599
TTY612673.2157
June6,2016
To:
EdGraff,Superintendent,MinneapolisPublicSchools
TheHonorableBetsyHodges,Mayor,CityofMinneapolis
MinneapolisCityCouncilMembers
th
th
Principals,9 -12 gradeCoordinators,
Teachers,SocialStudiesFaculty,ArtFaculty
MinneapolisHome,Alternative,CharterandPrivateSchools
PublicRelationsandCommunicationsDepartments,MinneapolisPublicSchools
Re:
2017Rev.Dr.MartinLutherKing,Jr.InMixedMediaContest:
The Minneapolis Commission on Civil Rights, the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights, Minneapolis City Council,
andMayorBetsyHodgesarepleasedtopresentthe2016Rev.Dr.MartinLutherKingJr.inMixedMediaContest.This
contestisopentoallMinneapolisstudentsingrades9-12.
Studentsareaskedtosubmitanoriginalpieceaddressingthisyear'stopic.
www.minneapolismn.gov/civilrights
Affirmative Action Employer
TheCivilRightsMovementofthe1950sand‘60swasastruggletoachievelegalequalityforAfrican-Americans,and
otherdisenfranchisedpeople.Dr.MartinLutherKing,Jr.believedthatequalityandfreedomforallpeoplewould
comefromthepowerofwordsandnonviolentresistance.Hebelievedthatthroughpeacefulactsofresolving
differences,wecouldcreateacountryinwhichallmenandwomenarepartofasinglehumanfamilyworking
togethertohelponeanother,regardlessofrace.HeledCivilRightsactivistsinpeacefulprotests,grassroots
coalitions,andcivildisobedience.Throughthesetechniques,hewasabletoshowthesufferingofAfrican-Americans
intheUnitedStatesandchangetheheartsandmindsofthecountry’sleaders.
Thetheme/topicforthisyear'scontestis:CivilRightsToday
Through art, writing, or mixed media show how your generation can continue the work for a future where access,
opportunity,andjusticeareequalforeveryone.
RULES
1.) ThecontestisopentoallMinneapolisHighSchoolStudents,andstudentslivinginMinneapolisingrades912.
2.) Studentsareaskedtosubmiteitheravisualartpiece,writing,ormixedmediaentrythataddressesthe
contestthemelistedabove.
3.) Allentriesmustbeaccompaniedbytheofficialentryformandreceivedby November28th
4.) ApanelcomposedofMinneapolisCivilRightsCommissionersaswellascommunitymembersandlocal
artistswillreviewallentries.
5.) Entrieswillbejudgedonthebasisoforiginality,creativity,andcontent.
6.) Allentrieswillbejudgedanonymously.
Completedentryformswithparent'ssignaturemustbeattachedtothebackofthesubmission.Allsubmissionsare
duebyNovember28th
TeacherscanrequestamemberoftheMinneapolisCommissiononCivilRightstovisittheirclassroomandtoassist
studentswiththesubmissiontopic.Torequestavisit,pleasecontactthecommissionerlistedatthebottomofthis
letter.
CATEGORIES
VISUALART
EntrantsintheArtCategoryarefreetouseanymedium(ink,paint,pencil,crayon,clayetc.).Allsubmittedwork
must:(1)Havedimensionsofnolargerthan12inchesby18inches,(2)notbecomputer-generatedartwork.Inorder
tohavetheirworkacceptedforjudging,studentsmusttypeorhandwriteabriefstatement(onaseparatesheetof
paper)explainingtheirpiece.
WRITING
AllentrantsintheWritingCategorymustsubmitoneoriginalpiece,nomorethan2pageswords,focusedonthe
contesttheme.Entriesmustbetypedorhandwritten,butmustbelegible.Illegiblesubmissionswillbedisqualified.
MIXEDMEDIA
AllentrantsintheMixedMediaCategorymustsubmitonepiececonsistingofanoriginalsong,skit,video,spoken
word,photomontage,orothermixedmediaproject.Submissionsmustnotexceed5minutesintotallengthandcan
besubmittedusingYouTube,PowerPoint,Prezi,oranotherpre-approvedplatform.Acceptableaudioandvideo
formatsareMP3,MP4,Avi,andmov.ElectronicfilesmustbeaccessibleinMicrosoftWindows.
Additional packets can be found on the Minneapolis Commission on Civil Rights website
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/civilrights/commission/civil-rights_commission_announcements
AllcontestwinnerswillbenotifiedbyJanuary2017.Therewillbethreewinnerschosenfromeachgradelevel.
ThecontestwinnerswillreceiveagiftcardtobeawardedataceremonybeforetheMinneapolisCityCouncilinthe
January2017.
FirstPlace
SecondPlace
ThirdPlace
$300.00
$200.00
$100.00
Therewillbeareceptionaftertheawardceremonytohonorthewinners.Teachers,parents,educatorsandothers
areinvitedtoattend.StudentswillhavetheopportunitytomeetandtakepictureswiththeMinneapolisCommission
onCivilRightsmembers,MinneapolisCityCouncilmembersandMayorHodges.Interviewsmayberequestedbythe
media.
Completedsubmissionsshouldbesentinnolaterthan November28th:
MinneapolisDepartmentofCivilRights
Attention:ChristianTaylor,MCCRLiaison
350South5thStreet,Room239
Minneapolis,MN55415
[email protected]
Your participation in this event is appreciated. Please feel to contact us directly with any questions or concerns at
[email protected]/[email protected].
Sincerely,
AaronCorfieldandBernadetteCaseyPR&ECo-Chairs