The Florida Commission on Human Relations is pleased to announce the winners of the “Discrimination Through the Eyes of Our Youth” video public service announcement (PSA) contest. The contest invited high school students around the state to create 25 second PSAs on the topic of discrimination.
“We are very pleased with the contest entries we received and would like to thank all of the teachers and students who participated and worked so hard to make this contest a success,” said Dr. Donna Elam, Chairperson of the Commission. “It is so important to give young people a voice and empower them to speak out on the realities of discrimination. This contest gave our future leaders an outlet to help in eliminating this type of behavior while educating the public on these pressing issues.”
Congratulations to our contest winners!
Commission District One (northeast Florida)
- First Place – “Unity in the Community” by John Davis, Justin Cormier, and Micah Keiser of Godby High School (Tallahassee)
- Second Place – “Elimination of Discrimination” by Sunny Patel and Younis Naser of Godby High School (Tallahassee)
- Third Place – “Don’t Discriminate” by Chi-Valry Wu of Godby High School (Tallahassee)
Commission District Two (northwest Florida)
- First Place – “Equal Rights” by Kasie Cheney, Crissi DeJiulio, Luiz Cruz, and Johnathan Tant of Belleview High School (Belleview)
- Second Place – “Duct Tape” by Chelsea Christy, Stephanie Polanco, Michael Rivera, and Justin Peacock of Dunnellon High School (Dunnellon)
- Third Place – “Don’t Discriminate” by Mercedes Abels and Debbie Crews of Cedar Creek Christian School (Jacksonville)
Commission District Three (central Florida)
- First Place – “We’re Not That Different” by Joseph White, Brianna Waggett, Cassi Finch, Chelsea Flanagan, and Ryan Fried of Dunedin High School (Dunedin)
- Second Place – “See the Similarities. Embrace the Differences.” by Élisse Jean-Pierre, Ashira Pelt, Sandra Massillon and Fernanda Pierre of Hillsborough High School (Tampa)
- Third Place – “My Great Movie” by Katie Mccoy, Nikki Brzozowski, Elizabeth Tolentio, and Siara Jones of Lake Brantley High School (Altamonte Springs)
Commission District Four (south Florida)
- First Place – “Equality” by Liliana Garcia, Nicole Mcinnis, Chrystal Llanusa, Nicole Glick, and Shanique Castro of Archbishop McCarthy High School (South West Ranches)
- Second Place – “Love in Black and White” by Vivian Chacon, Ingrid Torres, Estephany Avila, Karina Rico-Arango, Jean Hipolite, and Wanda Santillen of Miami Senior High School (Miami)
- Third Place – “Bullying” by Faby Moreau, Jessica Munoz, Liany Pacheao, Collette Conway, Rita Rubio, and Chris Short of Archbishop McCarthy High School (South West Ranches)
The Commission would also like to thank all of the contest media partners: Central Florida News 13 - Orlando, Miami Monthly Magazine – Miami, Ponte Vedra Recorder - Ponte Vedra, St. Petersburg Times Newspaper in Education - St. Petersburg, Tallahassee Democrat and Tallahassee.com – Tallahassee, WFTX - Ft. Myers, WTSP – Tampa, and WTWC – Tallahassee.
The Florida Commission on Human Relations, established in 1969, is the state agency charged with enforcing the Florida Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act. Fair treatment, equal access and mutual respect are the benchmarks of the Commission’s commitment. Through education, outreach and partnerships, the Commission works to prevent discrimination through teaching best practices and fostering mutual understanding in communities statewide.