The contest is organized by the National Youth Foundation. The mission of the National Youth Foundation — founded and led by three Black women and a Black teen with a vision for change — is to promote diversity, inclusion, and gender equality through innovative literary programs.

The poem or art submitted must be on the topic of Black Lives Matter. Each entry must be original poetry or art creation that is solely created by the student.

The contest is open to students in grades K to 12. For residents of the United States, as well as to international students.

We are keen to encourage quality, so suggest writers to check their stories before submitting using Prowritingaid. They have free and paid versions and are the best writing software we know to help improve grammar, readability and check for repetition, ‘sticky’ sentences and suggest alternatives.