2025 Black History Month Essay Contest Winners:

Middle School

• 1^st Place: Preston Zimmerman (6^th grade) – Dr. James E. West
• Runner Up: Rory Woodhouse (7^th grade) – Garrett Morgan

High School

• 1^st Place: Megha Dhillon (9^th grade) – Kizzmekia Corbett
• Runner Up: Daniel Awotoye (11^th grade) – "Running in their shadows" - Featuring African American runners

The Baltimore Ravens are proud to announce the 5th Annual Black History Month Essay Contest.

The theme for this year is "Black Inventors & Pioneers." Students are encouraged to submit an essay between 250-500 words highlighting discoveries, inventions, achievements, or other contributions from the Black community that have shaped history, along with their impact on society today. Such contributions may have a historical impact on any industry/sector, including sports, music, art, service, medicine, law, technology, education, science, and much more. The impact can be positive, controversial, educational, eye-opening, or anything that sparks emotion and understanding. This contest is open to all middle and high school students in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C.

Essays must be the author's original, unpublished work.

All entries are due on February 17, 2025, and four winners (two grand prizes, two runners-up) will be identified by the end of the month.

Details:

• Essays should be between 250-500 words
• Two divisions – Middle School (6th – 8th) and High School (9th – 12th)
• One grand prize winner will be selected from each division
• One runner-up winner will be selected from each division
• Essays should be uploaded as an attachment to BaltimoreRavens.com/BlackHistoryMonth no later than Monday, February 17, 2025, at 11:59 PM
• One project per submission. All projects must be submitted individually for consideration.

A panel of judges from the Baltimore Ravens will review the essays.

Rules: The Panel will judge and "score" each eligible entry by assigning a point value for each of the following, respective criteria: (a) degree to which the student applied the theme of "Black Inventors & Pioneers" (0-5 points); (b) degree to which the chosen subject has impacted society – changed societal views, altered the course of history, and/or influenced pop culture (0-5 points); (c) the originality of the essay (0-5 points); and (d) the literary style and grammar of the essay (0-5 points).

Prizes:

Grand Prize (2 total: 1 High School, 1 Middle School Winner):

• Two (2) tickets to a Ravens game in 2025
• One (1) Ravens Jersey
• Ravens Swag

Runner-Up (Two total: One High School, One Middle School Winner):

• One (1) Autographed Photo
• Ravens Swag

All Submissions: All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion/Participation.