May 17, 2022 Submitted by The Hingham Unity Council
Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19th to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, slaves were declared free under the terms of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.
As part of the celebration of Juneteenth in Hingham this year, the Hingham Unity Council (HUC) is inviting all students who live and/or attend school in Hingham to participate in a competition where they can express the importance of celebrating the holiday and what Juneteenth means to the community through a work of visual or performance art, an essay or other written work. Students in grades K- 12 are invited to submit an essay, poem, a piece of visual art (drawing, painting, sculpture - any medium of expression is welcome!), a video or original song or other performance to the Juneteenth committee. The HUC is pleased to be partnering with the Hingham Arts Alliance on this initiative.
Last year’s event was a huge success and we are glad to expand this year’s celebration to include some new surprises as well as adding this contest to better involve Hingham’s school age population,” said Aisha Nelson Oppong, who is co-chairing this year’s event with Marc Lucas.
To enter, please send your submission to juneteenthhingham@gmail.com no later than Monday June 6, 2022. Please also use this email to contact us to arrange adjudication of any physical submissions as well. Please include your name, grade, school and contact information as part of the submission. Students are permitted to submit more than one entry if they desire.
There will be a winner from grades K-5 and one from grades 6-12. Each will receive a $50 gift card and the winning submission from each group will be showcased at the HUC’s Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 18th from 4-6 pm at the Hingham Bathing Beach (rain date Sunday June 19th).