The Ann Arbor Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People recognized 143 Ann Arbor Public Schools high school students yesterday at their annual Freedom Fund Dinner. The students were recognized for maintaining a 3.2 grade point average or above through spring term of 2018. For 44 students it was their second time being recognized by the NAACP, while 29 students were receiving the accolade for a third time.
President William Hampton of the Ann Arbor Branch of the NAACP says it’s important to recognize students of color for their academic achievement. “People of color are marginalized and underrepresented and under recognized, so this is an opportunity for people of color to get recognized,” Hampton says. “You know, we have kids with special needs, we have kids who have never been honored before and we enjoy doing it, been doing it for 34 years.”
The overall theme of this year’s Freedom Fund Dinner was Defeat Hate Vote, with a student representing each school sharing their thoughts on voting. While only one student is old enough to vote in this week’s election the students say they are still following the issues closely and know the candidates. Community High School’s Toya Pace says paying attention inside the classroom and out is important for young voters. “I think education is crucial if we want to understand the world around us and we want to be aware of who we’re going to be voting for,” Pace says.
Skyline’s Robert Malcolm has a couple of years before he will get a chance to vote, but made a request for all eligible voters. “I can’t wait until 2020 when I can vote, so I just think that everyone who can vote should just go out and vote for me since I can’t vote,” Malcolm says.
The 2018 Freedom Fund Scholars are:
Community High School
Tesfanesh Hurd Quincy Jenkins** Jayla Johnson* Simone Mahler* Cecilia McLoyd
Aidan Osofisan Toya Pace* Aaron Rogers Sophia Scarnecchia Taylor Williams
Huron High School
Macie Angeli* Dante Bailey* Takima Banks Nia Buchanan** Saydatou Cisse
MiLisa Curtis* Alyssa Davis Mohamed Diakite Abdibazit Farah Trey Gardette
Jamii Gilbert** Jordan Gilbert Trinity Glaze* Kaiden Glenn Kala Jones
Ihsan Joseph* Odia Kaba** Ja’Nia Keith Basra Keynan** Abdul Kizito**
Sinit Lijam* Feleke Logue Kejuan Mathews Mouhamadou Mbengue* Kowsar Mohamed*
Zayd Mohamud Darron Moore* Deja Moore Tamarrah Morgan Imani Peterkin**
Darryl Phillips* Richarra Roach** Cheyanne Roy Abdikhani Said** Javontae Sayles
Jonnelle Sayles James Schrupp Brandon Scott Youssouf Sidibe Anthony Stewart
Lee Stewart** Virgil Watkins** Aaron Winston* Devin Womack Madalyn Wood**
Shania Wren Dakarai Young
Pathways to Success Academic Campus
Carson Bins* Makayla Scott*
Pioneer High School
Aderinola Adunbi** Kamar Ali* Jaimey Anderson Maya Boyd* Bankaly Camara
Omolara Clay* Macka Conde Alexia Easley* Michael Fletcher Jael Francis**
NaaShon Francis** Patrick Good Jordan Holcomb Austin Jacobs* Benjamin Jakabcsin
Ishara Kelsaw-Fletcher Lana Kinlaw* Coby LaPointe* Martha Laramore-Josey Kayla Lawson**
Ashleigh Lowe* Collin Melnykowycz Keimon Miller Kosisonna Nweze Mirian Nweze*
Gabriel Nwogu Brendon Odumodu Bryan Odumodu KuJuana Quinn* Quoia Sam
Lucia Sanchez Rini Jarrod Stevens** Felicia Stewart Ramona Talifarro Asaria Turman*
Ashanti Turman DeAnte Vaughn* Malcolm Vinson* Angel Christian Walker** Jasmine Williams
Jyadon Williams Johntez Williamson Kiara Wright
Skyline High School
Oluwaseun Ajepe* Sasha Akuezue Jonathan Baker** Alexander Batalonga* Jasmine Brocks-Matthews*
Marcus Brown Thailyn Brown Auren Carethers** Rachel Carethers* Jermaine Davis
Helena Digue Diamond Drake* Heavyn Dyer-Jones* Christopher Emerson* Tamara Emerson
Johnathan Faulkner Raven Flowers** Jalina Griffin Jahi Hawkins* AaLeja Hesterly*
Chala House Mallory Hughes* Abimbola Kolawole** Temidun Kolawole Abigail Liebetreu**
Nathan Liebetreu Robert Malcolm** Kendall Murray* Jordyn Newing** Rajada Noblin
Sarah Okeke** Gianna Shipp* Angela Solomon** Felicity Sorenson Ryan Wade**
Corey Whitehorn* Stephen Wilks** Denver Williams* Taiya’e Williams Gabryel Wilson**
*For second year scholars **For third year scholars
What an honor to be a parent of one of the students. Thank you for this celebration!