PRESS

Celebrating Our 2021 Music and Video Contest Winners

8/26/2021Press Release

Share

URL Copied

On Thursday, August 12, we celebrated members of our incredible Speak Truth to Power community through a virtual Human Rights Education Showcase. In this livestreamed event, Speak Truth to Power lead educators shared work they’ve been doing in their classrooms and beyond, members of our Youth Advisory Board spoke to the power of young people taking action in their communities, and the winners of our Speak Up, Sing Out! Music Contest and Speak Truth to Power Video Contest shared their winning songs and videos.

WATCH THE SHOWCASE

2022 will mark the 11th anniversary of our Speak Truth to Power Video Contest, in partnership with the American Federation of Teachers and the Tribeca Festival. For the past decade, the video contest has encouraged middle and high school students to use film as a tool to discuss human rights issues that are important to them. In creating these three- to five-minute videos, students not only learn about human rights but also become champions of change and social justice. Winners of the video contest will participate in the premiere of their video at the Tribeca Festival in New York City. The deadline for the 2022 contest is April 20, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Watch the 2021 grand prize-winning video, “Fruits of Labor,” by Kristen Joy Wang from Thomas Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland.

In partnership with the Grammy Museum, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights will celebrate the seventh anniversary of the Speak Up, Sing Out! Music Contest. Since its inception, the contest has inspired students in middle and high school to write an original song that takes a stand against human rights abuses around the world, as they understand that music can be a powerful vehicle for change. The music contest winner will perform their song at a Grammy-related event or virtual arts event. The deadline for the 2022 music contest is May 11, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. Listen to the 2021 winning song, “Who’s Been,” by Michael J from LaGuardia High School in New York City and Luis Aguillon from Bowman High School in Santa Clarita, California.

Learn more about the contests by visiting our contest pages, or email sttp@rfkhumanrights.org