Vote And Help Students Win Prizes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 6, 2021

Vote for Your Favorite Buxton Contest Entry by 5/19 to Help Students Win Prizes

OTTUMWA, IA — An original song. An original poem. An original television program. These are just some of the ways students across Iowa and beyond are bringing the history of Buxton alive through the arts via Uniting Through History’s Hip History Contest.

“We’re impressed by the creativity of students’ entries and want to reward them, so we’re giving students who get the most votes in upcoming weeks $100. We hope people will stop by the contest page, view the entries, and vote for their favorite,” says author Rachelle Chase, Uniting Through History’s executive director and an expert on Buxton.

Uniting Through History hopes the Hip History Contest will help students and those viewing the contest entries see how Buxton’s lessons of unity and racial equality can be applied today to help combat racism in America.

Established in 1900, Buxton was a coal mining community in Iowa where Blacks and whites experienced equality and equity and lived side by side in peaceful productivity. Black Americans, a majority of the population for most of Buxton’s existence, were leaders in the community.

By helping to spread the word about this extraordinary town, middle and high school students will get a chance to win between $250 and $2,000, thanks to a generous donation by Musco Sports Lighting, LLC. They’ll also get their work in front of celebrity judges and a one-on-one Zoom session with the judge of their choice.

“While we’re excited about the ability to help students with school expenses through our monetary prizes, the opportunity entrants have to interact with our panel of successful judges shouldn’t be undervalued. We invited judges who are leaders in their fields and inspirational to students,” says Chase.

For aspiring musicians, rapper MarKaus can share his experience. Lovar Davis Kidd is a great resource for dancers, and for thoselooking to break into journalism, Iowa Public Radio’s Charity Nebbe and KYOU’s Jatyra Marsh can lend their advice.

Know of a young person with a business idea? Derrick Holmes, CEO of Banneker Watches & Clocks, has a wealth of knowledge to share. Talent agent Steve Myers knows what it takes to land a commercial or modeling gig, and Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey is an expert in performance art. For those interested in real estate and home buying tips, realtor Monica Henry can help.

The deadline for entries was extended to May 19, 2021. To enter, visit https://unitingthroughhistory.org/contest-rules.

Uniting Through History is an Iowa-based nonprofit founded by Chase in 2021. The Hip History Contest is its first major project.

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