Howard University
Community advocacy and Founder: BlkVoicesAmplified

Throughout my childhood, my grandmother gave so much of herself to others. It was her healing power. My grandmother taught me the importance of serving those who don’t have. Since her passing in 2012, I have dedicated my life to being a servant of the people who need me most. I serve as the founder of the non-profit organization BlkVoicesAmplified, a youth-led social justice organization that stands on the principles of encouraging and educating black youth on being active in their communities.

As a young person, I’ve volunteered in several efforts to assist black youth and the advancement of people of color. I was given the title of being president of my church’s youth department. My role as a leader in the youth department at my church has been to instill the values of service and leadership in young people in the New Orleans Metropolitan area. We are actively involved in giving back to the community by providing meals for the less fortunate and encouraging them to keep their faith throughout their situations. I’ve held ACT and SAT standardized test prep through my non-profit organization BlkVoicesAmplified at no cost to students. BlkVoicesAmplified helps provide an opportunity for students within communities who may not have needed resources to better their scores on these standardized tests.

My role as a leader within BlkVoicesAmplified has been to instill the values of service, outreach, and possibility to young people around the world whose dreams and voices oftentimes go unheard. Our mission is to educate and encourage African Americans and people of color to be more politically and civically active. At BlkVoicesAmplified, we are aware of the challenges African Americans face including police violence, racism, employment discrimination, voter suppression, and many other social injustices. We understand the crucial impact that these problems have on the African American community. Our role is to inform and advocate to promote mental health awareness to combat the psychological effects and trauma these inequalities produce in our lives. BlkVoicesAmplified is dedicated to uplifting all black voices by advocating for those who do not have the strength to do so for themselves. Our mission is to ensure that every African American feels like their voice matters and that it is not falling on deaf ears. Through my non-profit, I’ve had the privilege of holding career fairs for underprivileged youth to meet and discuss career options like dentistry with professionals who come from their communities. They’ve also been extended the ability to shadow and assist within dental offices. When a young person observes a black or minority in a non-minority-dominated field, it gives them hope that they can one day achieve this because someone that looks like them has. Additionally, I’ve been honored to implement programs that provide education on the importance of oral health care for people of color and lower socioeconomic status around the world. We hold seminars in Financial Aid Literacy, Professional Development, Speech, Writing workshops, and more. Lastly, my non-profit offers cultural enrichment activities to promote awareness and pride for African-American youth in the community. Cultural enrichment activities that we provide include an annual black history program and play, visits to black history museums and historically black colleges, and workshops with influential people in the community.

Taking my platform and providing ways for younger people to benefit from it through education and empowerment helped me learn the greatest lesson; If you take care of your community, no one else will.