A banner for the Juneteenth Jubilee Celebration hangs from a lamp post in downtown Louisville.Louisville leaders said they are challenging local high school students to learn beyond what they are taught in history class.Recently, Mayor Craig Greenberg and the Office of Equity unveiled the Juneteenth Jubilee Commission’s Essay Contest. The inaugural writing competition prompts Jefferson County high school students with the questions, “What does Juneteenth mean to you? How can lessons from the past be a catalyst of change for the future?”Juneteenth honors when 250,000 enslaved Black people in Texas were granted their freedom on June 19, 1865, two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Under the Confederacy, Texas was the last state to declare enslaved Black people legally free, and later became the first state to recognize the holiday.In a 2022 Gallup study, only 29% of Americans said they had some knowledge of Juneteenth, a year after former President Joe Biden signed the national holiday into law.For Office of Equity Executive Director Vanessa McPhail, Juneteenth is a time of celebration that recognizes resiliency and hope. She said she hopes the essay contest will encourage students to “dig deeper.”“Hopefully, for some it's going to be a teachable moment — whether it's to their friends, whether it's to their peers, whether it's to a family member — and being able to connect it and make it relevant to what kind of changes they may want to see in the future,” she said.Each essay must be 500-1000 words, and students are prohibited from using generative AI to complete their work. Essays are due May 1, and students must submit them online.Winners will be announced May 20. The NAACP Louisville Branch, Louisville Central Community Centers and the Louisville section of the National Council of Negro Women will provide cash prizes of $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $100 for third place.Each winner will also be honored at a press conference slated for June 16, and they will receive a mayor’s proclamation, McPhail said. ...read more read less