2026 “STOP THE HATE” Awards Ceremony
We want to congratulate all the participants and teaching artists who worked together to create wonderful songs in this year’s Stop The Hate workshops. The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage launched the Stop the Hate program to inspire young people to confront intolerance through storytelling and advocacy, and it has grown over the years into a nationally recognized initiative. This year’s awards ceremony, held at the Cuyahoga Community College East Campus, brought students, supporters, and honorees together for a powerful celebration presented by Gabriella Kreuz.
For the 2025-26 school year, our Teaching Artists—Mikey Silas, Sam Hooper, Jul Green, Charlie Mosbrook, Kennedy Nagel, Esther Fitz, and Matt “Cutty” Banner—collectively wrote songs with 43 classes and 851 students! Song explored ideas of coming together, confronting bullying, inclusion, inequity, and many more thoughtful topics.
Congratulations to the 2026 winners!
Middle School:
First Place song: “We Will Rise”
North Ridgeville Academic Center led by Kennedy Nagel
Runner-Up song: “Mystery of Iniquity”
Milkovich Middle School led by Esther Fitz
Kennedy and her students from North Ridgeville Academic Center opened the ceremony with a moving performance of their winning song.
High School:
First Place song: “You Don’t Know Me”
Rhodes School of Environmental Studies led by Matt “Cutty” Banner
Runner-Up: “Break the Chain”
Walsh Jesuit High School led by Kennedy Nagel
The motivated students from Rhodes School went above and beyond this year, creating a music video and matching shirts. They all showed up in their shirts and entertained the whole crowd with their music video for “You Don’t Know Me.”
Additionally, we would like to congratulate Janet Creamer of Walsh Jesuit and Kelly Koehler of North Ridgeville Academic Center, who were honored as the 2026 “Teachers of the Year” for going above and beyond for their students through their work with ROOTS and Lake Erie Ink.
We are so grateful for the opportunity to support the Maltz Museum in their mission with this program. Stop the Hate continues to inspire thoughtful conversations and create meaningful change.
Videos of their performances are on the way! Thank you again to all of the participants in this year’s contest.