Community Day: Featuring Art Contest Exhibit Opening and Free Museum Admission

Behind every photograph is a story waiting to be told. For generations, Black journalists have documented the people, places, and moments that shaped history, often telling stories that were overlooked or ignored by mainstream media. Through newspapers, radio, television, and photography, they preserved the voices of communities, celebrated achievements, exposed injustice, and ensured that history would not be forgotten.

​

Inspired by this legacy, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center invites high school and college students to participate in the Portraits of Purpose: A Visual Storytelling Competition.

​

Your challenge is to identify someone in your community whose story deserves to be heard. This individual does not have to be famous or hold a public office. Instead, seek out the everyday people who make a meaningful impact through their work, service, leadership, creativity, resilience, or commitment to others.

​

Your submission should tell their story through the power of photography and journalism.