“I Have a Dream” Court Contest for Kids

The U.S. District Court for Northern California is inviting South  Bay students to enter a civics contest based on the 50th anniversary of  Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

The theme of the contest is "50 Years after the March on  Washington: What the American Dream Means to Me."

In one part of the contest, high school students in Monterey, San  Benito, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties are invited to submit a 750-word  essay on how the civil rights movement and the 1963 march on the nation's  capital have influenced their hopes and dreams for the future.

A second part of the contest is open to third graders, who are  asked to make posters on the theme.

The winners will be announced at a program at the San Jose  courthouse of the U.S. District Court on April 22 and will be given cash  prizes and medals.

They will also be invited to attend the opening day of a  conference of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Monterey on July 14,  and the winning essays and posters will be on display during the four-day  conference.

Rules, entry forms and other information for the contest are  available online.

Entries are due by April 1. The competitions are open to students  from public, private and parochial schools.

King, standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, gave his speech  calling for racial equality at the civil-rights March on Washington for Jobs  and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963. An estimated 250,000 people joined in the  march.

The contest is co-sponsored by the U.S. District Court and the 9th  Circuit Courts and Community Committee. They announced the contest on Friday.

The San Francisco-based District Court handles federal civil and  criminal trials in coastal Northern California from Monterey County to the  Oregon border. The court's San Jose branch is assigned to cases from the four  counties whose students are invited to participate in the contest. 

The 9th Circuit hears appeals of cases in federal courts in nine  western states. Its conference in Monterey will be attended by judges and  lawyers from those states.

The first, second and third prizes in the high school essay  contest will be savings bonds of $500, $250, and $100 plus a medal. Three  runners-up will each receive a $50 bond.

The third-grade winners will receive medals.