Winning entries from the 2026 edition

Between two shores, my voice breaks the silence
Lilyanna Gagnon — Esther-Blondin College

I was born at the crossroads of maps, where rivers meet without ever losing their way. In my veins, two bloods tell a story: half snow, half earth and memory. Heir to Indigenous whiteness and pride, I am that bridge the world sometimes questions.

But in the eyes of those who judge without knowing, I am sometimes too much of "this" or not enough of "that." They call me profiling, this lingering gaze, this invisible mistrust that stands guard. Because my face blurs their certainties, because my identity refuses the solitude of labels.

Racism would have me be silent, divided; it feeds on indifference and disguised fears. They ask me, "Where are you from?" like a riddle to solve, searching in my origins for a source of absolution. I am the one watched in the shadows, the one whose place is questioned at the slightest suspicion.

Yet, I am not a file, nor a mere pencil line. I am the heir to resilience, a daughter of conviction. My skin is a bond, my roots are my land, and faced with silence, I refuse to become ephemeral. Racism seeks to separate what my body has united, but my voice is a cry against contempt and oblivion.

I am whole, I am multifaceted, I stand tall. Against your prejudices and the silence, I will remain myself, despite everything.

I have a dream
Lila Scozzaro — Collège Saint-Sacrement

I have a dream
that the stifled cries shatter the night like breaking glass,
that their gleams become lights,
and that nothing can stifle them anymore.

I have a dream
that the shadows of the past
finally stop pulling the strings of our paths,
that the color of a skin will never again be
the invisible barrier that imprisons a destiny.

I have a dream,
that each voice finds its pitch
She may tremble, but never with fear.

I have a dream
that no child be born already separated,
that no heart can bear the weight of heartbreak before it even knows how to love.

I have a dream that one day, my children will never hear the word "segregation".«
that in their history courses,
like a dusty relic of a past that no one is ashamed of anymore,
a fragile word that will have survived only in books.

My dream is that this word will crumble to dust.,
that it no longer touches any skin,
that he may never bite another heart.

And I have a persistent, wild, ardent dream,
the kind of dream that burns brighter than fear:
that racism be silenced,
that we close his final door on him,
that we let it collapse into its own void.

I have a dream,
that together, we build a world
where no one slips into the abyss anymore,
because WE will have filled this void
with our voices, our hands, our lives.

I have a dream,
that the twilight of yesteryear may finally cease to shatter the ravines,
that the color of a skin can never again alter a destiny.

I have a dream.
A dream that refuses to die, even when the world is faltering.
A dream that clings to the steps we erase,
who claims his place in the dust of centuries,
and which still burns, invincible, in our hearts.

Certified original, personal and unpublished work.

You, the intruder
Fleur Sanchez — Robert-Gravel High School

We are all born one morning
Under the same sun
The blood that keeps us alive
We are all the same

Yet, deep in our eyes
Barriers are being erected.
We judge, we condemn
An origin, a face, a color

Voices are being raised
But the echo is weak
Opinions are dismissed
And reality is eliminated

Hidden
Ignored

The truth is the biggest secret.
From Montreal to Longueuil
Blinded by pride
Everywhere I go
They judge, they gag, and they blind
And yet I see you

You, the intruder
Licorice in Haribo packets
The raisins in the chocolate cookies
You, the spelling mistake in a perfect text

To be different
It's like watching the door close
Without even being looked at
It's this fatigue
To always be doubly graded

But a single note does not make music
One color does not make a rainbow
It's in the difference
May freedom dwell within us

So accept your nuances
And play your own melody

Certified original, personal and unpublished work.

A Fight for Humanity
Hafsa Bam Hamed — Jacques-Rousseau Secondary School

Before I speak, before I explain
I'm guilty, risky and carrying pain
They clutch their bags when I step on the train
Say “it's just to be safe” but I know it's disdain

They push, they judge me
They say I'm not worthy
But I work the same shift
And the taxes don't switch

They say “be calm, don’t play the race card”
But the deck was stacked from the very first start
They see my color before they see my heart
I just know that I'm here even though I am apart

You call me things without thinking about how I feel
You pretend all I do is lie and steal
And when you claim “it’s just a joke!”
Remember words cut deep and my dignity broke

Because in the end, we're all the same
We have hands, eyes and a name
We have a heart, a nose and a brain
So stop acting like we're different, we all feel the same pain

You don't live to discriminate
You live to thrive
You don't live to hate
You live to rise

So where's all the love?
Where's all the passion?
When I
All I see is destruction

How did we get to this?
I thought society would heal
But when I look at this abyss
I just see people who don't feel

I think it's time to raise our voices
To be brave enough and make our choices
I think it's time to put our hands up
To go beyond our differences and make up

So stand for your thousands lives, for the lives of
The ones who were oppressed
The ones who were betrayed
The ones who trusted the system and got played

So stand for yourself, for your mom and dad
For those who had a chance
For those who never had

So stand for your rights, for the rights of the nations
The ones who were neglected
The ones who were enslaved
I hope the world would learn from the past
This fight has just begun and it won't be the last

Just like Martin Luther King said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”
So let's break the silence and guide the world with respect and care

That one joke
Coralie Elisabeth Antoine — Collège de l'Assomption

That one joke.

I feel it doesn't need to be loud, or brutal. It can be quiet and still be as hurtful. Some disguise it as a “joke” but even though they think it's fun, nothing is fun about getting mocked for something you can't change.

It can happen to anyone, anytime, or by anyone. They define your background, family and yourself by venomous comments; they cut deep when they touch things you deeply care about. It destroys and eradicates self-confidence for entertainment.

They told me that my skin tone, religion and background affect the way I should be treated, and that is absurd and ridiculous. Kids, teenagers and adults of all ages get teased constantly, in real life and digitally, and there isn't one that is better or worse than the other; those types of comments are unnecessary.

Some hide it, bury it deep thinking that they will make a scene if they tell their stories. No, those voices should be heard all around the world. In the past we were banned, silenced by people thinking that being different from what society judges as being pure is something that needs to be polarized.

It was present in apartheid; apartheid is something that came straight out of a nauseating nightmare. It started in South Africa; black people needed to go through segregation, passes to be permitted to work or travel in areas restricted for white citizens. An age so dark but not that far.

We need to take example from Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and many more black people who inspire us to speak out and not get silenced by others' salty comments and that absolutely nothing can destroy the treasures in our culture that aren't just based on the darkness of our skin.

No color is inferior or better than the other. We all should walk together in unison and fight for what we are and want to be. We need to fight for a better future and not bury our feelings to avoid scandals.

Fight for your ancestors that battled for a brighter future, fight more than anything because your voice deserves to be heard no matter the color of your flesh, the religion you carry, the language you speak and the entourage you lead.

Yes, the situation is scary, yes everyday things get better, but there is still racial discrimination raging in places on Earth, some closer than you think. On the internet, on TV shows, in movies it could happen whenever and wherever.

Additionally, racism can be hidden in jokes or an opportunity to make someone laugh, even though the only thing that it's offering is secret small scars and maybe the first few don't hurt but after a couple of times you start to question: “are the things they say really true”.

IT CUTS DEEPER AND DEEPER and everyone has their own limits. For instance, I'm very patient when it comes to these slurs, but I still point them out when others say those sickening jokes.

However, everyone has their own limits so you shouldn't mock people even though they are very close to you because it hurts more than they realize; yes some will hide it well but it's still racial discrimination. No one should ever be treated like that.

NO ONE

Destroyed confidence – Deep hurtful cuts that could scar people forever – self-hatred – creates injustice – drives conflict – social tension

Are a few of the consequences of racism.

Using someone's race to judge or treat some people worse than others. Racism is something hurtful made for people's amusement and to fuel their pride and power thinking one race is superior to another.

So, you should think twice before saying that one joke.

Certified original, personal and unpublished work.