Freedom Award celebration opens by honoring youth
More than 2,000 people filled the pews Wednesday morning at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church to honor selected students who have made a positive change in Memphis.
The National Civil Rights Museum and International Paper honored nine young people with the Keeper of the Dream award, which goes to students who exemplify leadership and community service in the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The student forum was the opening for the annual Freedom Award celebration. Former Vice President Joe Biden, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and Memphis philanthropist Pitt Hyde are the 2018 winners of the award. Among the past years’ winners are Oprah Winfrey, former South African president Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and former President Bill Clinton.
This year’s youth honorees launched humanitarian efforts, encouraged girls in computer science, created innovations for bus travel, helped people access healthy foods and worked to support LGBTQ youth.
Sarah Rosenthal, a seventh-grader at Germantown Middle School, created a fundraising program called Sarah’s Hope Projects, which has contributed to Ready Shelby for emergency preparedness, Temple Israel’s MIFA Fund and the Memphis Family Shelter, as well as raising money to buy desks for students in Malawi.
Xinyi Tan, a senior at White Station High School, founded GirlCode, which offers free workshops on computer science and creating apps. She also founded the Rotary Interact Club at her school to encourage cultural awareness and unite students to learn about traditions from around the world.
Timmy Becton Jr., a senior at Frederick Douglass High School, founded GrowSmart, which collects food waste to fertilize community gardens in food deserts. His project was highlighted by Forbes Magazine, and he was a finalist for the Obama Foundation Fellowship.
Cameron Jones, a senior at Marion High School, created solar-powered cellphone chargers for bus riders to use while traveling, as well as being an advocate for voting rights and health care.
“For the past three years, he has worked as an intern for a medical clinic in a rural town and now aspires to be an infectious disease specialist,” the museum said. “As a member of Health Occupations Students of America, Cameron won first place in the State of Arkansas for extemporaneous writing for his clinical research and writing skills.”
A group of BRIDGE Builders members, Caitlin Robinson, a senior at Hutchison School; Lakia Coakley, a freshman at Middle College High School; Aaliyah James, a junior at Overton High School; Elena Matade, an eighth-grader at Bellevue Middle School; and Aniya Mull, a senior at The Soulsville Charter School; are surveying local youth to help educate schools, health care facilities and businesses about criteria for safe and welcoming environments for LGBTQ youth. Their advice for other young people? “Get out there, speak up,” James said. “Don’t hide behind our adult figures, because we need to speak up for what’s right and what we need to do to change our community.”
“You don’t need permission to be a leader, you don’t need anyone’s permission to care about something,” Robinson said.
“Take a risk and do what you love,” Coakley said.
“Never give up,” Jones said.