The ELA Honor Society is proud to announce that the winner of the winter Writing Challenge for Students is Dominick Melfi from The Edgar & Abe Chapter at Morgan Road Middle School in Liverpool, NY.
The evaluation team were extremely impressed with Dominick’s 200-word letter to Yetta, one of the protagonists of Margaret Peterson Haddix’s novel Uprising. This historical novel was inspired by the 1909 Shirtwaist Strike by women workers at a factory. Yetta, a Russian immigrant, takes a lead in fighting for better working conditions.
Dominick’s letter to Yetta reflects on the profound impact she and others like her have had on worker’s rights and how we can use her example to continue the fight to end discrimination against women and immigrants.
Dominick was the first winner of the official ELA Honor Society Competition Winner pin, given exclusively to those recognized by our evaluation team for their excellence in writing.
Dear Yetta,
You do not know me, but I know you. You were one of the heroes putting her life on the line for America’s laborers. The world is full of opportunities today for women, for immigrants, for all Americans. Unions have become reality and normal in everyday businesses. The problems people like you faced have been reduced and laws have been passed to protect workers.
The world isn’t perfect yet, but we strive to be. Voices have never been louder for improving working conditions. The last few years have been full of protests with strong, young, public speakers just like you. I know out of most of your friends you were the loudest and the most strong-headed and I know you’d be glad to see the strength in others’ voices today.
Discrimination is still present, but today people learn from your story and join together to strengthen their voice and their protest. So, we thank you for all your work and I’m sorry for the way you died, but you need to know your actions made a difference.
Sincerely,
Dominick Melfi
The final Writing Challenge for Students is open April 22 – May 6, 2024. Learn more and submit your work via the ELA AwardSpring platform.
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