Illinois Students Asked To Confront Hate, Bigotry In Essay Contest

CHICAGO — In an effort to combat a rising tide of hate and intolerance, the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Mobile Museum of Tolerance and the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes are holding an essay contest for Illinois students in grades 6 through 12.

The "Your Voice: Changing the World, One Speech at a Time" contest encourages students to reflect on the need to learn from history to prevent the atrocities of the past.

This year's theme focuses on a quote from Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor and the center's namesake, who spent his life documenting the crimes of the Holocaust and seeking justice for its victims.

“The history of man is the history of crimes, and history can repeat," Weisenthal said. "So information is a defense against repetition."

Entrants must put together a speech in 450 words or fewer that addresses Weisenthal's message while proposing ways to tackle bigotry, hate and intolerance today.

“As time passes, we forget the immense pain our ancestors have suffered through at the hands of zealots who destroyed lives and created misery,” Alison Pure-Slovin, the center's Midwest regional director, said in a statement announcing the contest.

The Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes, the essay contest's co-sponsor, is a 21-member body appointed by the governor and activated in 2021.

The Weisenthal Center's mobile tolerance museum, or MMOT, is a traveling education center that visits school districts and other locations to offer workshops focusing on civil rights, the Holocaust, and the power of individuals to combat hate.

“The goal of the MMOT and our work in schools and communities across the state is to help people recognize the threats around them and take meaningful steps to stop them," Pure-Slovin said.

This contest and the MMOT's broader educational efforts come at a critical time when hate crimes and extremism are on the rise, targeting people across a range of ethnic and religious backgrounds.

Submissions for the 2024 "Your Voice" contest are due by March 22. They must be sent to mmot@wiesenthal.com in a .doc or .pdf format containing the contestant's name, age, school, and contact details.

Finalists will be chosen on March 29. They must then submit video presentations of their speeches for the final round of judging on April 14, where they will compete for prizes for winners in middle school and high school categories.

First prize winners receive Apple MacBooks, second plate receives an iPad and third place gets a $200 gift card, according to organizers.

The 2023 essay prompt for the "Your Voice" contest was "The combination of hatred and technology is the greatest danger threatening mankind.”

Last year's winners were Farah Albayati of Niles West High School in Skokie and Jordon Gordon of Barrington Middle School.

Second place went to Areej Ibraheim, also of Niles West, and Isabelle Behnke of Pennoyer School in Norridge, while third place was claimed by Latrael Snyder of Fairfield Community High School Middle School Division and Annmarie Roth, also of Barrington Middle School.

"We had many powerful submissions in last year’s contest and are excited to see the creativity and deep personal conviction driving this year’s participants," Pure-Slovin said.