Freedomtainment, a 501c3 nonprofit from North Omaha with the mission to Educate, Empower and Entertain the Omaha community about African American culture is excited to announce an essay contest inspiring residents to share their personal stories addressing the question “What does Juneteenth mean to ME?”.  Submissions will be accepted thru June 1^st; winners will be publicly announced on June 19^th at the Omaha Freedom Festival during the FREE Family-friendly portion of the Festival between 1-5:30pm.  Winners will be contacted prior to the event to enable in person attendance at the Festival to pick up their award and read their essay to the public (or have it read). There is no cost to participate in the contest and winners do not need to be present at the Festival to win; however, attendance is strongly encouraged. 

DIVISIONS:
Participants will be asked to provide their age when submitting to determine which division the essay will be judged and their school enrolled, if applicable.  The following 2 divisions will be supported:

• Student Division: <25   years old
• Adult Division:       26+ years old

AWARDS:
1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Place awards will be publicly named for each division (Student & Adult).  The following prizes are made possible by Rotella’s Bakery:

• 1st Place:                         $250
• 2^nd Place:                         $150
• 3^rd Place:                          $100

Winners will be publicly announced live on stage at the Omaha Freedom Festival on Saturday, June 19th during the FREE Family-friendly portion of the Festival between 1-5:30pm.  Winners will be contacted prior to the event to enable in person attendance at the Festival to pick up their award and read their essay to the audience (or have it read).  Winners do not need to attend the Festival in person to claim their award.

JUDGING:
Judges are members of the community and are not otherwise eligible to win.  The following elements may be used to determine awardees: 

• Personal Meaningfulness: Creatively presented personal story individualizing what Juneteenth means to them.
• Inclusion of Juneteenth Holiday: Personal story related to factual historical meaning of Juneteenth.
• Overall Organization/Writing Quality: Professional essay presented in clear, concise and logical format using correct grammar and spelling.

Thank you to Lou Rotella with Rotella’s Bakery for sponsoring the contest.