FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Robert J. Benz (585) 310-4559 rbenz@fdfi.org
Frederick Douglass Family Seeks Racism “Remedies”;
Cash Prizes for Winning Blog Entries – Ages 13 to 22
(June 1, 2020, Rochester, NY) In his 1881 article, The Color Line, Frederick Douglass said, “Few evils are less accessible to the force of reason, or more tenacious of life and power, than a long-standing prejudice.” He considered racism a “moral disorder” that distorts perception “according to its own diseased imagination.”
Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives (FDFI), a Rochester, New York-based nonprofit organization, founded by direct descendants of the great abolitionist, wants to hear what young people think about racial prejudice. FDFI is announcing a contest that asks participants to extend Douglass’s disease analogy and write, in 500-800 words, their ideas for practical remedies to modern racism.
In light of nationwide unrest and protests, the voice of young people is critical. “My great-great grandfather never minced words,” stated Nettie Washington Douglass, who is also the great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington. “I believe that speaking directly is an antidote for the veiled messages or dog whistles that inspire division among our human family. We’re hoping that the next generation of leaders will instead be inspired by Douglass.”
There will be a total of seven cash prize winners of the Remedies Blog Contest. Three will be chosen nationally from the age groups of 13-15, 16-18 and 19-22. Three more will be selected from those same age groups in the City of Rochester, NY. Each winner will receive $1,000 and a free one-year subscription to Grammarly Premium, along with other gifts. Finally, the grand prize winner will receive $2,000 and a year-long Grammarly Premium subscription and other gifts. See the official rules for more details. The Remedies Blog Contest winners will be announced during a July 4, 2020 webcast hosted by Ms. Douglass and her son, FDFI president, Kenneth B. Morris, Jr.
Grammarly, the company behind the AI-powered writing assistant, is proud to partner with FDFI by offering Grammarly Premium to contest participants for the duration of the contest submission window, and free annual subscriptions to all winners, at no cost. Grammarly’s mission is to improve lives by improving communication, and by providing free use of Grammarly Premium, the company hopes to give these young writers added confidence to write and enable them to focus on communicating their powerful ideas.
“I spend much of my time in schools speaking with young people,” remarked Mr. Morris. “I hear their extraordinary ideas all the time. Now, we get to share those ideas with the public. Since the winners will be announced on July 4, I encourage participants to read Douglass’s famous speech, What to the slave is the Fourth of July. Use this as an example of how to agitate!”
About Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives
Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives is an Abolitionist and AntiRacist organization co-founded by direct descendants of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington. Its mission is To build strong children and to end systems of exploitation and oppression. FDFI has been a leader in implementing human trafficking prevention education curricula in classrooms nationally since 2007. From their headquarters in Rochester, NY, they are also working to end racial inequity. Learn more at www.FDFI.org.
About Grammarly
Grammarly’s mission is to improve lives by improving communication. Its digital writing assistant helps more than 20 million people write more clearly and effectively every day, providing feedback on correctness, clarity, engagement, and delivery. Grammarly works to empower users whenever and wherever they write—via a web editor, native desktop apps, browser extensions, mobile keyboards, and a Microsoft Office add-in. Grammarly’s business-focused offering, Grammarly Business, helps more than 10,000 teams improve their communication at work. Grammarly was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, with additional offices in Kyiv, New York, and Vancouver. Learn more at grammarly.com/about.