Submit your work for the Martin Luther King Jr. Reflection Competition by Feb. 1

Winter break is a perfect time to work on your submission to the 2017 MLK Reflection Competition. The Martin Luther King Jr. Reflection Competition seeks poetry, short stories, art, photography and video responses as well as essays. The contest is open to staff, students and faculty/administrators from Case Western Reserve University and Cuyahoga Community College. The prompts this year reflect the convocation theme of "Hope in Solidarity" by focusing on King’s connections to Cleveland, our continued battles for civil rights and how to effect sustainable change in our communities. Despite positive change over the 50 years since his last visit, many of the issues related to racial/ethnic disparities in access to education, economic and professional advancement and political agency continue to be fought in our city. Similar battles also are being waged surrounding gender, sexuality, religion, dis/ability, neurodiversity and other areas of human difference. First and second place winners for staff, students and faculty/administrators will be chosen from “written” and “non-written” expression categories. The awarding of honorable mentions will be at the discretion of the judges. Winners will be invited to read from and discuss their work at the reception and celebration at Kelvin Smith Library Friday, Feb. 24, from 4 to 6 p.m. The reception and celebration are open to the community. Winners will receive:

• First place: $300 and a copy of one of King’s books
• Second place: $50 gift certificate

The competition closes Feb. 1 at noon. Send submissions to MLK-Contest@case.edu. For detailed guidelines about submissions for each category and prompts, visit chc.case.edu/mlk2017. In addition, students, staff and faculty/administrators from both campuses are needed as volunteers to judge and set up displays and chairs for the reception. Those interested in volunteering should email MLK-Contest@case.edu by Jan. 15. Contact Lisa Nielson, Anisfield-Wolf SAGES Fellow, at lisa.nielson@case.edu with questions. The Martin Luther King Jr. Reflection Competition and celebration are sponsored by Cleveland Humanities Collaborative, Voices from the Village, Kelvin Smith Library, the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, the MLK Convocation Committee, the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opporunitiy, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs.