The purpose of the competition is to encourage oratorical skills among students in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King and Mr. Joseph Vaughn, who was the first African-American student at Furman University.

The Competition is split into preliminary judging and a final competition in which the student will ask to deliver their speech. Contestants are judged on Speech Development, Effectiveness, Correctness, Speech Value. Final elements will add physical appearance, voice, mannerism, and appropriateness to the judging criteria.

The contest was first held in 2008 at the Chapel on Furman University's campus. A theme is selected by MLK Planning Committee each year and several prizes are given to participants based on they are judged in the Contest.

Deadlines for Entry: January 22, 2021

Deadlines for Speeches: January 29, 2021

speeches are dues on that date.

Additional dates:

• February 13, 2021 Preliminary Competition (If more than 15 contestants)
• February 17, 2021- Feedback Session

Competition is limited to 35 Participants

The Final Competition is on February 27, 2021 at 10 AM

The session final open 9:40 AM

The theme for 2021 is

“Political Corruption, Systemic Racism, and COVID-19: What role can I play in these challenging times?"

Event Chairs:

Mike Chatman

Alpha Phi Alpha Foundation (864) 735-0880

contact@alphagreenville.org

Chandra Dillard

Furman University (864) 294-2503

chandra.dillard@furman.edu