When
Wednesday, June 3, 2026 5:30PM - 8:30PM EDT
Where
Thank you for making our 25th Anniversary Benefit a success!
On June 3rd, we celebrated 25 years of identifying and decreasing structural racism on Long Island and in New York State.
We celebrated the four winners of our annual “Raise Your Voice” Essay Contest: Ria Bhatia of Jericho; Edwin Montes Dubon of Uniondale; Zamari Paul of Malverne; and Janeiry Savinon of New Hyde Park. The evening then featured our student award winner, Matthew DaCosta, a Malverne high school student honored with the John Wenzel Scholarship for his leadership in the ERASE Racism Youth Development for Leadership Initiative and activities advancing racial equity. Our V. Elaine Gross Trailblazer Awardee was Monique Fitzgerald, honored for her efforts advancing racial and environmental justice on Long Island
The pinnacle of the evening was honoring our Abraham Krasnoff Courage and Commitment Award Honoree, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project. We concluded our program with a candid, lively, and inspiring fireside chat between President Emerita Elaine Gross and Nikole Hannah-Jones.
We celebrated the four winners of our annual “Raise Your Voice” Essay Contest: Ria Bhatia of Jericho; Edwin Montes Dubon of Uniondale; Zamari Paul of Malverne; and Janeiry Savinon of New Hyde Park. The evening then featured our student award winner, Matthew DaCosta, a Malverne high school student honored with the John Wenzel Scholarship for his leadership in the ERASE Racism Youth Development for Leadership Initiative and activities advancing racial equity. Our V. Elaine Gross Trailblazer Awardee was Monique Fitzgerald, honored for her efforts advancing racial and environmental justice on Long Island
The pinnacle of the evening was honoring our Abraham Krasnoff Courage and Commitment Award Honoree, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project. We concluded our program with a candid, lively, and inspiring fireside chat between President Emerita Elaine Gross and Nikole Hannah-Jones.
If you didn't attend the event — or maybe you did but you would like to relive it — here are some mementos from the night that you are welcome to share widely online:
25th Anniversary Benefit Video Recap
President Emerita Elaine Gross's Opening Remarks
Fireside Chat with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Elaine Gross
You can also find photos from the event by clicking here.
And last but not least, you can read the Long Island Herald's article about the event: ERASE Racism discusses the modern fight for equality on Long Island.
If you weren't able to attend but are inspired by our work, we encourage you to make a donation today!
Evening's Honorees
Abraham Krasnoff Courage and Commitment Award Honoree
Nikole Hannah-Jones is the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. The book version of The 1619 Project as well as the 1619 Project children's book, Born on the Water, were instant #1 New York Times bestsellers. Her 1619 Project is now a six-part docuseries on Hulu and won the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.
Hannah-Jones has spent her career investigating racial inequality and injustice, and her reporting has earned her the MacArthur Fellowship, known as the Genius grant, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards and the National Magazine Award three times.
She also serves as the Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she founded the Center for Journalism & Democracy. Hannah-Jones is also the co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, which seeks to increase the number of investigative reporters and editors of color, and in 2022 she opened the 1619 Freedom School, a free, afterschool literacy program in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa. Hannah-Jones holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and African-American studies from the University of Notre Dame. Click here to view the Press Release.
Hannah-Jones has spent her career investigating racial inequality and injustice, and her reporting has earned her the MacArthur Fellowship, known as the Genius grant, a Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards and the National Magazine Award three times.
She also serves as the Knight Chair of Race and Journalism at Howard University, where she founded the Center for Journalism & Democracy. Hannah-Jones is also the co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, which seeks to increase the number of investigative reporters and editors of color, and in 2022 she opened the 1619 Freedom School, a free, afterschool literacy program in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa. Hannah-Jones holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and African-American studies from the University of Notre Dame. Click here to view the Press Release.
V. Elaine Gross Trailblazer Awardee
Monique Fitzgerald
Monique Fitzgerald is a justice seeker, a community advocate and organizer. She has been working in her community for two decades. Focusing on mutual aid efforts, know your rights, community resource distribution, food sovereignty, environmental and climate justice. She was born and raised in North Bellport and is a Black and an indigenous person of occupied Long Island. Monique attended St Joseph’s College and obtained her bachelors degree in Community Health and Human Services in 2012. She then went on and obtained her Master’s degree at Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare. Her lived experiences and education put her on a path to work with great organizations and co-creating groups that are aligned with her values such as the Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group a grassroots intergenerational environmental justice group. She believes in the attainment of justice and liberation. Click here to view the Press Release.
John Wenzel Scholarship Awardee
Matthew DaCosta
Matthew DaCosta was selected for this year’s John Wenzel Scholarship due to the dedication and passion he has exhibited in ERASE Racism’s Youth Development for Leadership Initiative. John Wenzel, a resident of Sea Cliff, NY, on Long Island for more than 50 years, was a longstanding champion of ERASE Racism and a long-time Board Member of the Rauch Foundation. He died in late 2023. This is the third year that the John Wenzel Scholarship has been awarded.
Matthew is a senior at Malverne High School in Malverne, New York, and will be attending Duke University in Fall 2026 to study public policy. Matthew cites his experiences with activism, and as the chair of ERASE Racism’s Student Task Force, as inspiring his desire for a career where he can continue advocating for and impacting positive changes. This year, Matthew was awarded the prestigious Princeton Prize in Race Relations, which recognizes high school students who have demonstrated leadership in advancing racial equity or promoting racial understanding in their schools and communities.
Matthew is a senior at Malverne High School in Malverne, New York, and will be attending Duke University in Fall 2026 to study public policy. Matthew cites his experiences with activism, and as the chair of ERASE Racism’s Student Task Force, as inspiring his desire for a career where he can continue advocating for and impacting positive changes. This year, Matthew was awarded the prestigious Princeton Prize in Race Relations, which recognizes high school students who have demonstrated leadership in advancing racial equity or promoting racial understanding in their schools and communities.