The National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights (NCRCR) announced the winners of its 2010 Written Essay and Visual Image Contest in a press release this past Friday. Naomi Lattanzi, a 16-year-old from Los Altos, California, won the essay portion of the contest for her exploration of dealing with peers who ask if she is a lesbian.
Entitled, “What Does Equality Mean to You?,” the NCRCR contest was open to young people ages 14-18 and sought to define equality through written and visual submissions capturing the unique perspectives of the country’s youth. Celebrity and high-profile judges included Alicia Keys, Margaret Cho, Congressman Keigh Ellison of Minnesota, Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York and NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous.
Lattanzi’s winning essay, “Are You?,” centered on the notion that, regardless of her sexual orientation or society’s struggles over gay marriage and LGBT rights, equality will someday transcend social division.
“I don’t know, but you can’t take away what sense of self I have,” Lattanzi wrote. “As long as I have people who accept me you can’t make me feel inferior. You’ll eventually have to accept the truth: We are equals.”
Naomi Lattanzi shares her honors with 18-year-old Misra Walker of New York City, winner of the visual arts category of the contest. Both young women will be celebrated today at a ceremony in New York and participate in a training session geared towards public speaking and civil rights issues.
“Young people have always played an important role in the struggle for civil rights and social justice.” said Juanne Renee Harris, Director of the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights. “Naomi and Misra represent a new generation of leaders whose activism and innovation will continue to shape the landscape of civil rights and social justice in the 21st century.”
Visit the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights’ website to learn more about the contest and current initiatives.
