Three Steps to Empower Youth Voices to Overcome Hate

The Stronger Than Hate Challenge highlights the power of learning from the past and using your own voice to counter hate. The Challenge is presented in partnership with USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and as part of the Teaching with Testimony program. Teaching with Testimony draws upon USC Shoah Foundation’s vast library of audiovisual testimony from survivors and witnesses of genocides to empower students to find their voices and take action for a better future. 

Entering the Challenge can be done in three easy steps: 

1. Learn. Start the challenge journey with the Stronger Than Hate interactive module. Students will learn about the origins of hate plus hear how listening to and telling stories can make us all more empathetic, help us recognize our shared humanity, and create a world that is stronger than hate. (Module is self-paced and takes 15-20 minutes.) 
2. Create. After completing the module, students work individually or as a team (up to 4 members) to create their challenge submission. The submission can take multiple forms – videos, poems, songs, blogs, paintings, and artwork are all accepted – with the ultimate goal of connecting people, building empathy, and bringing community members together through the power of testimony and story. 
3. Submit. After finalizing their work, students are asked to register for an account to officially submit their project for consideration. Students must obtain consent from a parent or guardian in order to create an account, which can be completed electronically with a few simple steps. Parents/guardians will receive a username and password to share with their child to complete the submission process. 

Previous Challenge finalists and winners submitted projects on a range of relevant and impactful topics that addressed hate in their communities. The 2020 winner – Emma F. from San Clemente High School located in San Clemente, CA – created an artistic multi-media project addressing racism in the United States with a hand-drawn digital mural of George Floyd with the words “you can’t conquer hate with hatred.” 

The Stronger Than Hate Challenge provides a project-based approach to connecting students with social and emotional learning, as a catalyst for inspiring change. Help students discover how their voices can help create communities that are stronger than hate. Find these and other resources at TeachingwithTestimony.com or on the Teaching with Testimony Channel in Experience.