Your Voice, Your Viewpoint: An Open Call for Students to Speak Out—Enter by Oct 30!

Middle, high school and college students have a chance to win $500 in Schneps Media’s “Your Voice, Your Viewpoint” by sharing their stories of when they experienced racism.

Our latest submission is from 18-year-old Jordan Lindsey of Virginia Commonwealth University:

I first experienced racism when I went over my neighbors house. I was about seven or eight years old. They were Asian, and I think one of their family members was over. My brother was already over there, and he asked me why I had come. I came because I just wanted to come and hang out with them too. He said their family member (maybe aunt) is racist; she doesn’t like black people. She looked disgusted when I had came in, and that saddened me because I was so young and was thinking did I do something? I ended up leaving and was confused as to why.

Another instance of racism happened in fifth grade. The teacher asked us all to state an opinion and then to form a line. I remember saying something along the lines about how I thought country music was not good. Later, sometime in the library, one of my classmates who was white walks up to me and says, “rap music isn’t good” Mind you in fifth grade, I didn’t listen to rap and I still don’t really care for it. He was basically thinking, well, because she’s black, she likes rap music. I was very confused after he said that because it didn’t even apply to me. I never realized that he was racially stereotyping me until years later.

3 middle school students and 3 high school students will each be awarded a prize of $500 by a panel of Queensborough Community College students. Submissions will be accepted through Friday, Oct. 30, and winners of the prize will be announced on Nov. 6.

The Details:

Schneps Media and the Claire Friedlander Family Foundation want to hear your voice and your viewpoint on your experiences with racism. We invite students, our future leaders, to share your thoughts and feelings about your experiences with racism.

Middle and high school students are invited to submit essays, videos, poems, or other expressive media that you feel capture your experiences.

Students can either choose from the following prompts, or choose to submit work beyond the prompts, but still related to the overall goal of sharing your voice and your viewpoint.

I experienced racism when…

I’ve fought against racism by…

I was racially profiled when…

My first experience with racism was when…

Submit virtual or written entries limited to 250 words either by email or by using the hashtag #YourVoiceYourViewpoint on social media including Instagram or TikTok. Submissions and video entries can be emailed to Submission can be emailed to YourVoiceYourViewpoint@schnepsmedia.com. Please include your name, age and school with your entry.

Submissions will be published in Schneps Media’s multiple platforms of print, digital, and broadcasting. Three middle school students and three high school students will each be awarded a prize of $500 by a panel of Queensborough Community College students. Submissions will be accepted through Friday, October 30.

Schneps Media is the parent company of Dan’s Papers.