‘I Have a Dream’ pitch competition returns Feb. 21

Raising Kings 2019 — a month-long event in honor of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King — starts on Monday, Jan. 21, with the MLK Day of Service at the Delaware Art Museum and ends with the $1,000 “I Have a Dream” Pitch Competition for African American boys aged 8 to 18.

The competition, founded by University of Delaware student Garry Johnson in 2017 and hosted by One Village Alliance, was held at 1313 Innovation for its first two years, featuring judging by Tariq Hook of Zip Code Wilmington, Pedro Moore of FundingFuel and Jordan Gonzales of Geoswap.

The 2017 winners, Joel Amin and Demetrius Thorn, pitched an equitable real estate venture called TradeLink Pro. Last year, Elijah Jones took home $1,ooo for his idea, Project Increase, a college-readiness program for low income African-American males in Delaware.

This year, the competition will be held at I AM ART at 2411 Lancaster Ave. in Wilmington from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. The event is free for audience members, networkers, potential investors and pitching entrepreneurs. To sign up to pitch, go to the Raising Kings’ Eventbrite and register as a presenter.

The full Raising Kings 2019 schedule includes:

• Monday, Jan. 21 — #BHIM Awards Gala, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Mitchell Center for African American Heritage 
• Wednesday, Jan. 23 — #ProtectOurKings Chess & Mentoring Challenge, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at DYRS Cottages Multi-Purpose Building
• Saturday, Jan. 26 — Raising Kings Conference, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at P.S. DuPont School 
• Sunday, Jan. 27 —  Raising Kings Prayer & Call to Action, 10 a.m. to noon at area churches
• Tuesday, Jan. 29 — Lewis L. Redding Street Law Session, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Young, Conoway, Stargatt & Taylor 
• Wednesday, Jan. 30 — Film Screening & Talk Back, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Delaware Art Museum