The following are the fabulous winners and finalists for the Spring 2025 classic #USvsHate contest! We asked youth, educator, and community voters: Which do you most want amplified in schools and publicly?
In #USvsHate, we define “hate” as any time people denigrate, disrespect or harm an individual or group as if their identity makes them an inferior or less valuable type of person. By amplifying “anti-hate” youth voices in schools and publicly, we seek to empower students to build schools and a society where all belong, feel included, and get supported.
Winners
Anonymous, Grade 9, California
Anonymous writes: “Something that really upsets me and I could go on and on for hours about is the amount of hate and negative things people spit at each other nowadays. I, personally, could care less about who you are and what you represent yourself as because at the end of the day, we all bleed red. We’re all human, and we all share this entire space (the world) with each other no matter what. So what’s the point in shutting somebody down for wanting to appear a certain way? This isn’t even something recent – for years somebody’s always had something to say about another person, whether it be something they can or can’t control.”
Varika, Grade 11, Florida
Varika writes: “I wrote this to highlight how cultural appropriation in fashion often ignores that traditional styles were born from necessity and survival, not just a desire to look ‘beautiful.’ It is painful to see my community’s traditions stripped of their meaning and turned into profit-driven trends without any credit or appreciation for the original creators. I believe students should learn the deep history and purpose behind global garments so we can move from ‘consuming’ a culture to actually respecting it. By honoring the original context, I hope to ensure that others see the passion, labor, and heritage behind what they might otherwise dismiss as a passing trend.”
Anonymous, Grade 9, California
Anonymous writes: “I made my poster to address xenophobia and the way people are being judged and treated especially recently because of their accent or where they come from. ‘Different Accent, Same Dreams’ means that someone having a different accent than someone else doesn’t mean they don’t have goals, intelligence, worth, or dreams to accomplish. I think this message is important because many people face xenophobia in schools and work which are places people should feel safe and included in because no one should feel like they don’t belong no matter their cultural background. By promoting the understanding of the seriousness xenophobia is, we can create classrooms that are welcoming and respectful to everyone.”
Anonymous, Grade 1, California
Their teacher explains: “The first graders in my class read and studied the poem: Peace: A Recipe by Anna Gossnickle Hines. We learned more about recipes and what kinds of measurements are found in them. Then students wrote their own kindness recipes.”
Anonymous, Grade 9, California
Anonymous writes: “I was born Chinese-American. One of my earliest memories is of my grandma cooking dinner. My family would always be stocked with bok choy, ginger, and some sort of special spice, like star anise. As someone learning to understand their identity, I realized that food brings us together; it teaches us to respect other cultures in ways that words can’t. I created this piece, ‘Boquet of 食物’ (the Chinese word for ‘food’), as a peace offering. With this atypical bouquet, I hope to bring awareness to anti-Asian hate and racism by demonstrating how cultures can blend into something beautiful. The takeout box, disposable bamboo chopsticks, and fortune cookie slip have become recognizable objects in Chinese-American restaurants as a result of both Chinese and American influence. The bouquet’s wrapping paper is green, which symbolizes harmony in Chinese belief.”
Anonymous, Grade 9, California
Anonymous writes: “Through my model, I want to emphasize the message: ‘Rally for Love, Not War.’ Every country should choose understanding and love over the use of bombs, guns, and violence. This message is very important for me as it is very sad to see and hear from the news how many lives are lost when one country attacks another, maybe due to different beliefs and principles. This should stop! Countries should choose to connect and cooperate rather than thinking of their own selfish political motives for the greater good of their citizens.”
Anonymous, Grade 9, California
Anonymous writes: “This piece is a message against hate, yes, but it’s also a message for love, or more specifically self-love and acceptance. A message telling every queer person to be proud of themself. I chose this message because I myself am genderfluid, but I was never really given a term for it. It took me a long while to come out because I didn’t have a word for myself – the closest I ever got to it was transness, and still I felt that didn’t quite fit. I felt awkward, like I didn’t fit in the box I was given – and, ironically, I didn’t fit in the box for people not fitting in the box. I wasn’t proud of myself, and I hated that feeling – it was like I didn’t belong anywhere! And I didn’t want anyone else to feel that way. I also built this project around something I’d heard a while ago – that the word monster comes from Latin ‘monstrum,’ which means a miracle or portent, a divine sign that something miraculous was about to happen. I thought a lot about that, about people who misinterpreted things because they were afraid of what they didn’t understand, and people who didn’t understand themself. People who were afraid of showing themself. This piece was made to empower those people, to give them the hope and the strength to remind them that even if they’re afraid, even if they’re not completely sure, they should show the world who they are, and be proud about it.”
