Moral Courage Essay Contest

The Anti-Defamation League is sponsoring an essay contest for middle- and high-school-age kids. The theme for the Leslie and Norman Davis Student Essay Contest is moral courage. ADL's Tara Raju said that it's important to make the distinction between the courage people equate with action heroes and moral courage.

People with moral courage:

"There is a distinction and we are asking students, 7th through 12th grade students, and kind of look through history and ask and question and read about and learn about those individuals throughout history, someone who has taken a strong stand on an issue based on someone's conscience or convictions."

Raju said the contest welcomes all 7th to 12th graders in Colorado and Wyoming. Essays must be between 700 and 1000 words, typed, double spaced, and submitted by March 18th. More details are available on the ADL Web site.

Mailing address:

"They can also get on the Web site at ADL dot org backslash mountain states. They send them to the ADL office in Denver, Colorado. Our address is 1120 Lincoln St., suite 1301, Denver, CO 80203."

When asked if the essays are open as far as choosing a person from any particular religion or perspective, Raju said absolutely. And the person in the essay doesn't have to be someone famous or from far away.

She added that the ADL's mission is to resist defamation, bigotry and discrimination for all people.

Securing justice for everyone:

"The reality is you can't secure justice for one group; we're so interrelated that we all have to work together, for each other, otherwise no one will be able to stand by themselves."

For more information call 1-303-830-7177.