A collection of 100 inspiring, moving and poignant short stories, submitted to the 500 Words: Black Lives Matter competition which ran on Virgin Radio in July 2020.
The empathy and observation within these stories is truly inspiring. These children's understanding of the world around us and the changes that need to be made, give me real hope for the generation of tomorrow
I loved this writing competition for providing young people with an opportunity to be creative, express themselves and help make sense of this extraordinary human experience we've all been through
Our future feels in good hands with these phenomenal, powerful stories. I found them genuinely moving, thought provoking and they gave me such hope. What a wonderful and inspiring project to be involved in and what incredible future screen-writers, novelists, authors and warriors we have in waiting for the years to come. Such a joyful and important creative endeavour beautifully carried out
The standard and quality of the stories are awe-inspiring. They are poignant, moving and some extremely heartfelt. My congratulations to all the finalists.
The incredible talent on display in these stories is truly impressive. This genuinely moving and authentic writing is a much needed rallying cry for change
I was so moved by the range of skilful, moving stories featured in 500 Words: Black Lives Matter. These are some seriously talented young writers.
In a time of such bleak uncertainty, these gifted and sensitive young writers give great hope for the future. I encourage them all to keep writing and using their talent
Poignant, incredibly assured and deeply emotional story telling. Their brilliant response to why Black lives matter, is an exemplary model for empathy , compassion and understanding of the world we live in. I have been blown away by the quality and skill of these young writers.
I think the 500 words competition this year focusing on the Black lives matter movement is a wonderful way to get young children to learn and understand about the importance of equality. It allows children to be creative and describe their feelings and this is so important for their mental health'