Essay Contest

Dorothy Clark Hobson Creative Response Contest

The Dorothy Clark Hobson creative response contest is hosted each spring in conjunction with the Community Read. Students are asked to respond to a prompt with an essay, video, or podcast exploring the book’s themes. The contest is open to both high school and college students, and winners from each category are awarded a cash prize for their submission. The prompt and the guidelines for each year’s contest are detailed below.

2026 Prompt: “Hidden Histories”

What are the histories of your communities that have been silenced, marginalized, or remembered? Interview an older member of your community or family member who was alive during the long civil rights movement (for example, 1950s-1980s). In a 10-12 minute recording (video or audio), reflect on their experience and include highlights from the original interview.   

Submission Guidelines

• Submit a link to your podcast or video (e.g. YouTube, Soundcloud, etc.) 
• Time: 10-12 minutes 
• Email submissions to read@muw.edu. 
• Deadline to submit: March 27^th 
• Winners announced and awarded prizes on April 8^th during the Community Read Book Talk for Part IV of The Barn 

How to interview someone

• Best practices (adapted from National History Day’s “Guidelines for Conducting Oral History Interviews”) 
  • Do a little research ahead of time on your subject
  • Schedule an interview ahead of time
  • Ask open-ended questions, like “can you describe what you went through the day you found out Emmett Till was murdered?”
  • Write questions down ahead of time and share them with your interviewee.
  • Choose a place that is quiet, with ample lighting if you’re videorecording
• Example interview questions:
  • Do you remember when you learn about Emmett Till’s death? How did you find out, and how did it make you feel?
  • Can you share your memories of an event that brought civil rights struggles to your local community? How did it affect your community? Did you participate?
  • Can you tell me about a place in your community that is significant to the civil rights movement that isn’t really recognized for that significance? Why is it important?
• Example Interviews:
  • Murder of Emmett Till Interviews 
  • Library of Congress Civil Rights History Project interviews (including one with Simeon Wright) 
  • “A Shaky Truce: Civil Rights Struggles in Starkville, Mississippi, 1960-1980” 
  • Emmett Till Archives, Florida State University 

Interview Equipment Resources

• How to use your phone to record audio 
• MUW Library Creator Studio options 
  • Video/audio editing software 
  • Video and audio equipment available for use and checkout