Congratulations Grand Prize Winner
Leah Messemer receives a 4-year $40,000 scholarship
Click her photo to read the winning essay
About Stop the Hate Youth Speak Out
The Stop the Hate® contest is an initiative of the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage that celebrates Northeast Ohio students committed to creating a more accepting, inclusive society by standing up and speaking out against bias and bigotry as they compete for the chance to win a prestigious award. Each year about 3,000 students enter, and with the help of 400 volunteer readers, 25 finalists are named. Since the contest started 12 years ago, over 30,000 students in 12 counties across Northeast Ohio have participated, and as of this year, $1.2 million has been awarded. Rooted in the Jewish value of respect for all humanity, the Maltz Museum is proud that it continues to give young people of all faiths and backgrounds a platform to speak out in support of inclusion and diversity. Congratulations to everyone who has shared their inspiring stories with us. If you are inspired by one or more of these students' stories please share them with your social networks.
Meet the Top 25 Finalists
Congratulations 11th & 12th Grade Runner-Up Winners
1st Runner Up receives a $15,000 scholarship, 2nd Runner Up receives a $10,000 scholarship, 3rd Runner Up receives a $5,000 scholarship
Click their photo to read each winning essay
Congratulations 11th & 12th Grade Honorable Mentions
Each receives a $500 cash prize
Click their photo to read each winning essay
Congratulations 6th - 10th Grade Winners
1st place receives a $400 cash prize, 2nd & 3rd place receive trophies
Click their photo to read each winning essay
Congratulations Newton D. Baker School of Arts
The school with the highest percentage of essays receives a $5,000 Anti-Bias Education Grant
Congratulations Hudson High School
The grand prize winner's school receives a $5,000 Anti-Bias Education Grant
Hear the 5 Winning Songs
About Stop the Hate Youth Sing Out
In partnership with Roots of American Music (ROAM) and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Maltz Museum celebrates the voices of young people standing up to bias and bigotry through the annual Stop the Hate® Youth Sing Out contest.
More than 1,000 students from 17 middle school classes and 25 high school classes representing 14 different schools worked collaboratively within their classes to pen and perform songs as part of an arts-integrated learning initiative. This semester long project begins with a Stop the Hate tour at the Maltz Museum, where students learn about history of bias. Then, students reflect on discrimination they have witnessed or experienced in their own lives. Turning their words into lyrics with a ROAM teaching artist, students perform their original songs on stage at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in front of a panel of prestigious judges and fellow competitors. After they perform, their capstone experience is to learn about the power of music in protest on a tour at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The annual program sharpens written and oral language skills, fosters a deeper understanding of historic human rights events, and offers students the chance to win anti-bias education grants for their schools. Congratulations to all of the participants for using their voices for good!
Congratulations Youth Sing Out Winners
First Place schools receive a $5,000 Anti-Bias Education Grant, Runner-up schools receive a $2,500 Anti-Bias Education Grant
Click their photo to hear each winning song
SUPPORTERS & JUDGES
We are grateful for the commitment of the sponsors, educators, judges, volunteers, committee members, and Maltz Museum Board Members, without whom this program would not be possible.
MALTZ MUSEUM BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Grant Dinner, Chair
Milton Maltz, Chair Emeritus
Tamar Maltz, President
Robert Gries, Vice Chair
Reneé Chelm, Vice President
Keith Libman, Vice President
James Gomez, Treasurer
Barbara Miller, Secretary
Lisa Backlin
Joe Cimperman
Ronald B. Cohen
Mary Ann Corrigan-Davis
Jordan Goldberg
Lois Goodman
David Katz
Alan M. Krause
Kenneth B. Liffman
Darrell McNair
Larry Pollock
Albert B. Ratner
Barbara Robinson
Enid Rosenberg
Irv Rosner
Phil Wasserstrom
Daniel Zelman
Adam Zelwin
Adele Silver, Honorary Trustee
The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr.,
Trustee Emeritus
EX OFFICIO
Rabbi Jonathan Cohen,
The Temple-Tifereth Israel
Jeff Kaplan,
Friends of the Maltz Museum
Barry Reis,
Jewish Federation of Cleveland
Erika Rudin-Luria,
Jewish Federation of Cleveland
David Schafer,
Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage
STOP THE HATE COMMITTEE
Darrell McNair, Chair
Scott Simon, Vice Chair
Tim Bowens
Sue Kirschener
Gregg Levine
Bobbie Lindenbaum
Enza Roth
Matt Sobel
Joan Szczepanik
Jonathon Wise
YOUTH SPEAK OUT JUDGES
We are grateful to the 447 volunteers who generously donated their time to blind-score this year’s Youth Speak Out essays. See a full list of readers.
YOUTH SPEAK OUT JUDGES
Antoinette M. Baker, MSM,
AVP, Operations Manager, PNC
Greer Gibbons, Project Manager – Engine Oils,
The Lubrizol Corporation
Eduardo Kim, Partner, Thompson Hine
Gregg Levine, Consultant, Ratliff & Taylor
Monyka Price, Chief of Education,
City of Cleveland
Cecilia Render, Executive Director,
Nordson Corporation Foundation
YOUTH SING OUT JUDGES
Leah Branstetter, Digital Education Manager,
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Nikki Claverie, Administrator, The Music Settlement
Jeff Niesel, Music Editor, Cleveland Scene
Ida Mercer, Community Outreach Liaison,
The Music Settlement
Christelle Saint-Fleur, Community Outreach
Manager, Center for Arts Inspired Learning
Jazmine Walker, Academic Success Manager,
Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland
Evelyn Wright, Vocalist and Educator
ROOTS OF AMERICAN MUSIC
Kevin T. Richards, Artistic Director
Tam Sivertson, Project Assistant
Diana Chittester, Teaching Artist
Ray Flanagan, Teaching Artist
Sam Hooper, Teaching Artist
Kyle Kidd, Teaching Artist
Jason Meyers, Teaching Artist
Afi Scruggs, Teaching Artist
Alisha Stahnke, Teaching Artist
Bethany Svoboda, Teaching Artist
Brian Straw, Recording
ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME
Joe Butler, Education Instructor
Deanna Nebel, Education Instructor
Kathryn Clusman, Manager of Community and
Family Programs and Master of Ceremonies
Mandy Smith, Director of Education
MEDIA PARTNERS
Cleveland.com
Cleveland Jewish News
Cool Cleveland
Ideastream
Northeast Ohio Parent
Your Teen Magazine
ADDITIONAL PARTNERS
Beth Segal Photography
Blue Robot
College Now Greater Cleveland
Meredith Camp Events
Steven Hacker Films
STOP THE HATE IS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF:
Presenting Sponsors
Youth Sing Out & Speak Out Signature Sponsors
A stage for stories of struggle, courage, and creativity; a forum for difficult conversations about discrimination and intolerance; and a platform for youth to share their vision for a brighter future, The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage brings history to life, issues to light, and people together.
The Maltz Museum is supported by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Jewish Federation of Cleveland, and Ohio Arts Council