The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage announced the 2021 student and school winners of its 13th Annual Stop the Hate Youth Speak Out & Youth Sing Out Contest, which recognizes Northeast Ohio middle and high school upstanders who write individual essays and classroom songs to stand up and speak out against bias and bigotry. The contest annually awards $100,000 in scholarships and prizes.
This year’s Grand Prize and $20,000 scholarship award winner was Thomas Smyers, a senior at Shaker Heights High School. His school won a $5,000 Anti-Bias Education Grant. Hear his essay here.
“When George Floyd was killed last year, I thought about the lessons I’ve learned from my grandpa, my parents and my experiences participating in the Student Group On Race Relations at Shaker Heights High School, and I wanted to make a difference,” Smyers says. “I wanted to be a part of change. This essay is my reflection on what I tried to do. It’s also my way of calling out to others, particularly my fellow teenagers, to join together to make our world a better and more equitable place.”
Smyers said he felt particularly drawn to the essay contest because this year it honors the memory and spirit of legendary civil rights leader John Lewis, who died last July.
“He is one of my heroes, as was my grandpa,” he says. “They marched together for voting rights across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965.”
He wrote his essay about the inspiration he received from his grandfather.
He “was a champion for justice and racial equality,” Smyers explained. “My grandpa understood that change does not just happen — it is forged by people who act with intention. In the essay, I describe the ways that I’ve tried to act with intention, and how I’m joining other teenagers who are working to make our country more just and equitable.”
“The essay helped me feel more connected to my family’s legacy of service to others,” he says. “It also made me appreciate that even though I’m young, my voice matters. My actions matter.”
Smyers will be attending Harvard College in the fall.
“I’m not sure what I will study, but I have a strong interest in economics, sociology and African American studies,” he says. “I am particularly drawn to the big questions about how we can strengthen access to the American Dream for all Americans.”
The Second Runner Up was A.J. Shorts, a senior and a football player at Charles F. Brush High School, who won a $5,000 scholarship. His school won a $2,000 Anti-Bias Education Grant. Hear his essay here
A.J. heard about the essay contest from his teacher Mrs. Fine and thought about the time last April when someone called the police on him and his father as they were about to work out in a park.
A.J. spoke about the fear he felt that day and how he wanted his essay to help others understand what he experienced, what it was like to be in his shoes and to see and feel what he did in that moment.
“One person can help make change,” he said. “No one is excluded from hate. We can’t stop hate without being together.”
Last June, he participated in “Build the Bridge,” a program at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton that brought coaches, players, parents, administrators and community members from predominantly black and predominantly white teams together. “The mission [was] to empower, develop and unify programs across Northeast Ohio — and beyond — regardless of race, class or creed,” according to the recap from the Hall of Fame.
A.J., who is headed to the University of Mount Union, is planning to become a history teacher and a coach. He said he discovered while writing the essay how to express himself and his feelings, and that he has a talent for writing.
Jessica Chang, a senior at Hathaway Brown School, was First Runner Up and won a $10,000 scholarship. Her school won a $2,000 Anti-Bias Education Grant. Hear her essay here.
The Stop the Hate contest has two components: the Youth Speak Out Essay Writing contest for students and Youth Sing Out Songwriting contest for classrooms. Both celebrate Northeast Ohio students in sixth through 12th grade who are committed to creating a more accepting, inclusive society by speaking and singing out against bias and bigotry. Since the contest began 13 years ago, the Maltz Museum has awarded $1.3 million in scholarships, and more than 40,000 students and schools in 12 counties across Northeast Ohio have participated.
View all this year’s winners here.