Black in Business
Highlight a Black creator or innovator, online or offline, who inspires you.
Prizes
- First place:
- $5,000
- Second place:
- $2,500
- Third place:
- $1,000
Matching grand prize donation to benefit Black Artists + Designers Guild.
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Jan 29, 2021
Submissions closed
Mar 12, 2021 5:59 AM CUT
Results
Mar 13, 2021
Prizes
- First place:
- $5,000
- Second place:
- $2,500
- Third place:
- $1,000
Matching grand prize donation to benefit Black Artists + Designers Guild.
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Jan 29, 2021
Submissions closed
Mar 12, 2021 5:59 AM CUT
Results
Mar 13, 2021
About this challenge
The lives we lead today would be considerably different without the contributions made by Black entrepreneurs, inventors, and creators. In recent years, the number of Black-owned businesses has risen dramatically, with Black women fueling much of that growth! Our world wouldn't function the same without Black engineering, philosophy, and discovery.
As we continue to battle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the significant effects of racism, it's imperative to recognize the tremendous impact Black innovators, creators, and entrepreneurs have across all different industries. This includes restaurant and small business owners, designers, photographers––you name it.
Let's continue to honor and acknowledge Black stories by shining a spotlight on influential Black entrepreneurs and creatives. Enter the Black in Business Challenge and highlight a Black creator or innovator, online or offline, that you admire and tell us why. This person who inspires you could be someone you know personally, the owner of your favorite local café, or even someone famous or historical that you admire. We can't wait to read your inspiring stories all month long.
"I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there, I was promoted to the washtub. From there, I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there, I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations. I have built my own factory on my own ground." – Madam C.J. Walker, founder of the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company
How to enter
For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 5,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until March 11, 2021, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or third place prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these 35 countries will not be eligible to win.
Open challenges
Challenges you can enter now for a chance to win.
3:00 AM
Write a fiction story about a recurring dream or nightmare.
$500 Grand Prize16 days leftMore challenges
coming soon!
Challenge resources
Just a Minute Challenge Winners
Thanks again to Vocal Creator, Breezy, for suggesting the Just a Minute Challenge — one which you all interpreted in a wonderful variety of ways. Sometimes a minute can feel like an eternity, sometimes it can pass in the blink of an eye… to describe the passing of sixty seconds is no simple matter.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 12 days ago in ResourcesIn Eclipse Challenge Winners
Creator Dane BH is one of our Vocal stalwarts. We’re so grateful to all of your in our Vocal community, and so thrilled by your achievements. This is the third time Dane has won one of our challenges, and she appears too on our Vocal podcast, Write Here, Write Now — take a listen if you haven’t already. But she’s not our winner because we know her: the subtlety and simplicity of we watched the world go dark. together. is what made it our winner of the In Eclipse challenge, with the grace and ease of its lines and observation. As it happens it also expresses the community spirit that means so much to us.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 17 days ago in ResourcesWhispering Woods Challenge Winners
Congratulations to Morgan Christy Rickards for their winning Whispering Woods story, Guardian at the Gate. Morgan has been a Vocal creator since February 2021, and this is their first time placing in Challenge — well done, starting with a win! Guardian at the Gate draws evocatively from Welsh tales of the Cantre'r Gwaelod, a lost sunken kingdom between the forest and the sea. Heledd’s dangerous adventure pulls her towards the water but her spirit is anchored in the woods: Morgan’s writing is atmospheric and exciting.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 2 months ago in Resources