'Stop The Hate' Program Launches, Will Give Away $100K

BEACHWOOD, OH — The annual Maltz Museum's Stop the Hate program launched this month.

The program distributes approximately $100,000 to Northeast Ohio students in grades 6-12 and their schools. The theme for this year's contest is courage, as inspired by Cambodian-born human rights activist, author and Cleveland resident Loung Ung, who once said, "Courage is when you dare to be yourself, in whatever ways you want to be - to not be afraid, to just do it."

This year, the program has expanded to include free online museum tours of the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage and school classroom workshops. Students taking part in workshops will:

• Take a Stop the Hate tour (online or in the museum).
• Have the chance to meet with a Holocaust survivor.
• Work with a teaching artist to reflect on bias in history and share their own experiences
  • Lake Erie Ink leads personal essay writing workshops (students can win money)
  • Roots of American Music leads group song writing workshops (schools can win money)
• Receive anti-bias education grants to be used the following year
• Get a 2021 Stop the Hate School of the Year plaque

A virtual information session on the program will be held Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Representatives from the Maltz Museum, Lake Erie Ink and Roots of American Music will explain how to participate in Stop the Hate, as a school or student.

Session attendees will also hear from the 2021 Education of the Year, Kari Beery of Mayfield Schools, and from contest finalists, and will learn about tours, workshops and the contests. There will be a question-and-answer session.

For more information on the session, visit the Maltz Museum website.