This year, America celebrates 250 years of the Declaration of Independence.
It’s a lot older than TEAM Westport. But it’s a perfect topic for the town commission’s 13th Annual Teen Diversity Essay Contest.
This year’s prompt is:
This year, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a document which Abraham Lincoln called “a rebuke and a stumbling-block to tyranny and oppression.”
The Declaration of Independence was a product of its time, drafted to rally the colonists to defy Great Britain, support the creation of an autonomous and independent nation and attract allies to its cause.
Nonetheless, its claims have been universalized and imbued with fresh meaning by people here and around the world who have regarded it as an enduring beacon of hope in their own work to seek equal rights, freedom and self-determination.
The famous words in the Declaration’s preamble proclaiming as a self-evident truth that all men are created equal and have inalienable rights endowed by their Creator, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness have been widely employed to assert the inherent dignity and fundamental human rights of each person.
The Declaration of Independence is a foundational document in American political and social life that also inspires TEAM Westport’s mission: to build a community where diversity is welcomed, and inclusion, respect, and belonging are actively extended to all who live, work, attend school, or visit in Westport — regardless of ethnicity, gender identity, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
In 1,000 words or less please comment on the following:
1) The relevance and value of the Declaration of Independence in your everyday life and your duties or obligations, if any, to uphold its principles for all people living within our democratic society;
AND…
2) Opportunities, if any, you believe town leaders (including fellow students, school officials, community members, and TEAM Westport) could create to act differently or additionally to reinforce the principles of the Declaration of Independence.
For the past 23 years, TEAM Westport has been a town-appointed committee focused on making Westport a welcoming community with respect to race, ethnicity, religion and LGBTQ+.
“With this contest every year, we seek student input on important topics,” said TEAM Westport chair Harold Bailey. “However, at this time and on this subject, nothing could be more relevant for contemplation.”
The contest is open to all students in grades 9-12 who are Westport residents, or attend a Westport school (public or private).
Up to 3 cash prizes will be awarded. The first prize is $1,000; second prize is $750; third prize is $500.
The deadline is March 16. Winners will be honored in a Westport Library ceremony on April 28.
Click here for essay applications, the prompt, and contest entry rules.
2025 essay winners (from left): then-1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, Westport Library director Bill Harmer, Annam Olasewere, Aanya Gandhi, Sienna Tzou, Souleye Kebe, Staples High principal Stafford Thomas, TEAM Westport chair Harold Bailey. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Hopefully the entrants and the judges will acknowledge how singular this document was. I’m not hopeful given Westport. I’m sure everyone, literally, will write about slavery but no one will mention that it existed everywhere and for all time until the Christian men and women of the West opposed it and put an end to it. If they mention the slave trade they won’t mention the Arab slave trade or the slave traders of Dahomey or the massive Aztec ritual sacrifices they’ll focus on the 3% of African slaves brought across the Atlantic who came to what was going to become the United States. Then they’ll talk about how terrible the USA is without any context. And no one will learn anything, other than grievance. But I can still hope…
I hope an essay addresses the role of Benjamin Franklin as to the words “we hold these truths to be self evident”.
Mr Gallo
As America entered World War II these “four freedoms” – the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear – symbolized America’s war aims and gave hope in the following years to a war-wearied people because they knew they ( Christian’s and Jews, blacks and whites, all Americans including those Americans of German and Japanese descent) were fighting for freedom.
We still have a way to go for all Americans to be treated equally and enjoying those four freedoms. Talking about current inequality is a way to improve on the past and not repeat the mistakes of the past. Remembering the slaveries of the past and their residual inequalities are calls to make sure everyone can enjoy those for freedoms.
Team Westport gives our community a chance to listen to our young people and a chance to possibly find paths that improve on the past.