Our Rights, Our Future

Jody Leung here: I had a great time in New York City!

I participated in the essay contest because I wanted to share my experience of living in a diverse community with others. I had an awesome time doing interviews with ABC and CBS. The next day at school, my friends were joking around and they asked me for my autograph. It was hilarious!

I had a fun time in New York City. I met a lot of nice people who made my stay really welcoming. The campaign staff and other finalists were wonderful to be around. We ate at Artie's for dinner, which had the best pastrami sandwiches I've ever tasted!

 

On Monday morning, we took the subway to the New York Lawyers for Public Interest office. The subway reminded me of the BART system in California because it was really crowded. After eating breakfast at the office, we had media training with Renna Communications. We got some tips on how to do an excellent interview. We helped each other out by practicing mock interviews. The training got me excited for the real press briefing.

 

After lunch, we took the subway to Fordham Law School, where the press briefing was held. When I went into the room, I saw a podium and several chairs in the front of the room for the finalists to sit. I also saw a camera man and other people from the media setting up. I started to get nervous.

 

The press briefing started and all the campaign staff made great speeches. Then, it was my turn to read my speech. I was nervous at first, but the feeling eventually went away. The other finalists did a great job!

 

When the event was over, we spent some time at Central Park. The sun was out and the weather was perfect. During the evening, we went on a cruise and I got the chance to see New York City at night. It was beautiful! My trip to New York City is an unforgettable experience because the people I was with made it really special.

Sabrina Felice blogs about how she heard about our essay contest

My name is Sabrina Felice. I live in New York City. I am 13 years old. I was one of the 8 finalists in the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights Essay Contest. I have always wanted to give a kid's point of view about diversity.

I am a reporter at the Children's Press Line. Our director invited us to enter this contest about diversity.

I asked, "What kind of contest is this?"

"A contest about 'Why diversity is important in our schools,'" she answered.

I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to write about diversity at my middle school. My school is Louis Armstrong Middle School in East Elmhurst, NY.

By entering this contest, I could tell about being in a school with so many cultures. I take for granted that I am around students from all over the world, but most kids don't understand how cool that is. Together we make everything fun. Writing about diversity is also helpful because you can tell people how it is to be with people of different cultures everyday. 

I live in New York City, and I love being in the city, especially with new friends. I went to Fordham University for a press conference. I was so nervous, but excited at the same time. I went there to read my essay to the Press. I really had a lot of fun. We went to the Central Park Zoo afterwards. Everyone was so helpful and I liked being with everyone.

Who cares about diversity in schools? Kids do!

MORE THAN 1600 YOUNG PEOPLE ENTER NATIONAL ESSAY CONTEST

ASKING "DOES DIVERSITY MATTER?"

On May 21^st, the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights will make the formal announcement of the winners of their national essay contest, "Does Diversity Matter?" at a media briefing in at 1 p.m.

The essay winner is Jody Leung, 17, of Union City, CA, and the winner of the short answer portion of the contest is Laura Machado, 11 years old, of Louisville, KY. Runners up are from Seattle, Washington; San Jose, California; Ithaca, New York; New York City; and New Orleans, LA.

"NCRCR launched the essay contest in response to the Supreme Court’s consideration of two cases from and that could overturn or curtail historical advancements to promote diversity in schools," said Marianne Engelman Lado, general counsel of the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. The Court's decision in these cases is likely to be announced any time before July 2007. "These cases mark a turning point in the nation's response to the Court's unanimous 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, in which the Supreme Court ruled that 'separate but equal’ has no place in the field of public education," said Cristóbal Joshua Alex, Campaign Coordinator for NCRCR.

The judges for the contest were Rev. Al Sharpton, Congresswoman Solis, based civil rights attorney Doreena Wong, former NBA All-star Kevin Johnson, and the American Civil Liberties Union’s Director of Racial Justice Program, Dennis Parker.

Over 1600 entries came in from around the country, with young people 12-17 writing essays on the question and kids younger than 12 sending in short statements about why diversity matters to them. "We were thrilled with both the number of entries and the thoughtful nature of the essays and statements," said Alex. "It is fitting that so many of our winners and finalists come from Louisville and Seattle, where these two Supreme Court cases originated," continued Alex.

"Our goal with this contest was to hear directly from students why they feel diversity is important in schools – and their response was loud and clear," Alex added. "These kids clearly expressed that diversity enriches their educational experience and makes the world a better place. We couldn’t agree more and we hope the Supreme Court does the same," concluded Alex.

The National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights is a non-partisan movement working to ensure that our courts protect and preserve equal justice, fairness, and opportunity. We achieve these goals through raising awareness, outreach, and building alliances.  

For more information about NCRCR and the contest go to: http://www.rollbackcampaign.org