Washington-area youth can use their creative skills to bring one of Iowa’s forgotten towns to life while winning prize money for themselves and their school.

Washington for Justice is hosting a program next week to introduce the Uniting Through History Hip History Contest that’s beginning its second year in the State of Iowa. The contest invites Iowans 13 years and older to submit their creative and educational interpretation of Uniting through History Founder Rachelle Chase’s book, “Creating the Black Utopia of Buxton, Iowa.” Buxton was a coal mining community of 5,000 people founded in 1895 in Monroe County where 55% of the population was Black. The diversity and integration of the community was an anomaly of the time, though due to the decline of mining and a large fire in 1916, the town had lost all of its residents by 1927. Washington for Justice member Dan Henderson says on Friday, March 25 from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Washington Public Library the group will explain how students can enter the contest, “What kids need to do is they’ll read about and learn about Buxton, Iowa which is what we’re going to do on the 25th. We’re going to do a presentation about Buxton and I’ve got a couple of videos that we’ll watch and tell them a little bit about really the amazing story of this early 20th century town that existed here in Iowa.”

Author Chase will also be attending the informational event via Zoom, and Henderson says they plan to hold a workshop in April to help students develop their submissions as well. Entries are due May 16th, and the top three winners in the middle and high school divisions will be given cash prizes of up to $2,000 with their school winning a matching prize. For more information visit here.