General
MEDLEY COMMUNICATIONS
INSTALLATION PROFESSIONAL Part Time Employment
AVIVA Children's Services
Monitor: Parent-Child Visits General
Drexel Height Fire District
Firefighter

All my life I have been judged for being a young black female. Even though I thought racism was "over," I've been given the runaround almost every time I've wanted to get involved in school or my community.

When I wanted to hold a student-teacher conference about the racial tension between the African-American and Hispanic students at my middle school, my teachers sent me from office to office, where all I got was excuse after excuse and no real answers.

When I tried to challenge myself by taking harder courses like algebra, one of the math teachers persuaded me to take the easier course. I felt like she profiled me as a black teenager who wasn't "smart" enough to take the class. I know I'm not the only one who has felt the fury and frustration of this judgment; I've heard and seen it done to my peers of color.

I understand why these under-encouraged students who feel that their voices are not heard or valued start to lose interest in community involvement and civic responsibilities like voting. When adults expect so little from youths, how can they grow up to become active citizens?

Could it be that some of the nonvoting young people have been through experiences like mine and have decided that their votes don't count?

In Teen Court, a mock-trial program for middle schoolers, I learned the concept of restorative justice, where the crime of an offender is repaid to the victim. I also learned about the history of voting in America and Arizona, and how a few votes are able to affect the outcome of an election.

I remember the day I first learned how valuable each of our votes is. When my language arts class held a mock vote during the 2002 general election, I was surprised by how seriously my peers took the voting, even though it was unofficial. At first I felt unsure of how to respond to the ballot, but as I started to make my decisions, I began to feel a sense of importance. I had heard about some of the issues on the ballot in the news and had started to form my own opinions.

After I finished voting, I felt excited that I filled out my first — mock — ballot. I talked to some of the students around me to see if anyone else shared my sense of pride. We compared who we voted for, and when we defended our choices we got really into it, gesturing wildly with our hands and shaking each other's shoulders. When I got home from school I talked to my mom about who I voted for and why. It made me feel more mature to be able to talk about politics with her from a firsthand perspective.

To me, having voice means knowing what we believe and acting upon those principles — and voting is a way to enact those beliefs. It's also a way to restore justice to those of us who have felt silenced in the past.