One local government in Connecticut is sponsoring an essay competition called “Teen Diversity Essay Contest” for high-school students on the issue of “White Privilege,” offering prizes up to $1,000 for the best essays.
The contest is organized by the predominantly white town of Westport, Connecticut, and is part of an initiative called Team Westport (Together Effectively Achieving Multiculturalism). It is aimed at turning the town into “a more welcoming, multicultural community” and “preparing our children for their future.”
High-school students in the town are invited to submit an essay on “white privilege.” The competition invitation reads: “In 1,000 words or less, describe how you understand the term ‘white privilege’. To what extent do you think this privilege exists? What impact do you think it has had in your life—whatever your racial or ethnic identity—and in our society more broadly?”
According to the government’s site, the contest is designed to “increase awareness, foster understanding and promote understanding” because as “the nation faces historic social shifts relating to race and identity young people will find themselves at the crossroads of a different America.”
“A primary focus and concern of our organization since its inception has been the impact of the town’s relatively low levels of racial and ethnic diversity on our children. This year’s essay topic provides our young people an opportunity to reflect upon that impact, and make their personal statements about it in very meaningful ways,” TEAM Westport chair Harold Bailey said.