Chattanooga, Tennessee (Press Release) – EPB invites Hamilton County students to participate in the 16and EPB’s annual Black History Month Poetry Contest to celebrate February as Black History Month.
“We’re excited for the opportunity for students to learn about these events, be inspired by them, and ignite their passion for creative expression,” said Kelvin Boyd, Community Relations Specialist at the EPB. “We encourage students to write their poem in the first person as if they were there as a participant or as a witness during the time the event occurred.”
Hamilton County students in grades 1 through 12 in public, private and home schools are encouraged to participate in four age groups. Students can research the following topics and write a poem of their choice.
- How did you feel when you read that Bessie Smith became a world-famous blues singer after seeing her perform on the streets of Chattanooga in the early 1900s?
- What do you think it was like living in the Chattanooga African American Shelter “Contraband Camp” (now Renaissance Park) after the Civil War?
- How do you think it was to participate in Nat Turner’s revolt in 1831?
- What was the first day of school Like after desegregation (1954-1969)?
- What was daily life in New York during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance?
- How does it feel to see Simone Biles wins four gold medals in women’s gymnastics at the 2016 Olympics?
- Describe your experience on the bus with Rosa Parks when she made her famous political statement in 1955?
- how did you help Barack Obama prepares his historic inauguration speech as the first African-American president of the United States?
- What was it like participating in the March on Washington in 1963?
- How did you feel when you heard about Tuskegee Airmen claim 112 aerial victories in World War II?
Students can submit poems until February 7 at 5:00 p.m. EST. Each winning student and their teacher will receive $100 and be invited to attend the EPB Black History Month Awards Banquet. Please visit epb.net/blackhistorymonth for more information.
About the EPB
EPB serves the greater Chattanooga area by providing world-class energy and connectivity solutions as a means to promote economic development and improve the quality of life in our community. We provide electricity to more than 170,000 homes and businesses in our 600 square mile service area which includes most of Hamilton County as well as parts of surrounding counties in Tennessee and Georgia. In 2010, EPB Fiber Optics, which offers Internet, television and telephone services, became the first provider in the United States to offer Internet speeds of up to 1 Gig (1,000 Mbps) using a fiber network. community-wide optics accessible to all. home and business in its service area. In 2015, EPB became the first, and to date, the only US ISP to make Internet speeds of up to 10 Gig (10,000 Mbps) available to all residential and business customers as a standard offering.
EPB also used its community-wide fiber optic network to deploy the nation’s most advanced and automated smart grid power management system. In recognition of EPB’s groundbreaking infrastructure, the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using EPB’s smart grid as a national model for best practice research and development. EPB is also the first major electric utility to obtain PEER certification from the USGBC for having a highly automated and modernized electric grid.
EPB is an independent City of Chattanooga board that began serving customers in 1939. Visit EPB.com for more information.
