“Speak Out/Stop Hate” Video Contest

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release
Press contact: Ted Hesson, 516-304-5644, thesson@longislandwins.com

Long Island, NY - Long Island Wins is giving every person with a video camera, a concept, and a desire to “Speak Out/Stop Hate” against immigrants the chance to have their voice heard, and to teach others the value of tolerance.

Our organization—a public information campaign driven by the belief that immigration creates valuable opportunities for economic, cultural, and social growth—wants you to put together a 30-second video aimed at reaching middle school and high school students for our video contest, which runs from Tuesday, August 18, 2009, to midnight on Friday, October 2, 2009. The winning video will be featured at the Long Island Latino International Film Festival (liliff.com) this November, promoted on national immigration websites, and utilized by Long Island Wins as an educational tool to increase understanding within our community.

Why you need to "Speak Out/Stop Hate:"
For years, politicians and media across the country have fanned the flames of hatred against immigrants, blaming newcomers for problems that the politicians themselves refuse to fix. This type of rhetoric has invariably influenced some young people, further reinforcing anti-immigrant sentiment. On Long Island, we’ve experienced this personally. In November 2008, Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero was beaten and stabbed to death in the village of Patchogue by several young men who routinely roamed the streets “beaner jumping.” Simply put, it was a hate crime.

The overall response to the Lucero murder from Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy—one of Long Island’s chief anti-immigrant politicians—has been predictably tepid. When Levy did reach out to Suffolk County's young people by releasing a 30-second PSA against hate crimes this May, the video, while well-intentioned, missed its mark (watch the PSA below). With that in mind, we think there are filmmakers out there—professional and amateur, local and national—who can do better.

About the contest:
We're looking for the video that best conveys the message of "Speak Out/Stop Hate" to students. We don’t want spoofs or remixes—videos should be created specifically for this contest. To submit your video, post it to YouTube, and then send the link to thesson@longislandwins.com. Videos will be judged by our contest panel members, who will choose the winners based on creativity, originality, and effectiveness of message.

Rules:
- All submissions must be received by midnight on Friday, October 2.
- Submissions must not exceed 30 seconds in length.
- Individuals may submit more than one video.
- Contestants agree that upon submitting an entry to license it under a creative commons that gives us (www.longislandwins.com) the right to post your video on our website and circulate it to others.
- Entries must be an original creation and not contain the intellectual property of another person or company.
- Entries containing obscene material will not be accepted.
- Groups of people are encouraged to submit videos, but prizes will be the same.
Click on the headline or go to www.SpeakOutStopHate.com to see details and all the links to enter the contest