of Montgomery Academy and I will be attending Tuskegee University in the fall to major in political

felt being one of the only black people in my predominantly white school

I was the only black girl in my grade from kindergarten up until ninth grade and that produces a lot of

throughout my elementary and middle school years because it's

with nobody who looks like you and barely who anybody thinks like

having to explain a lot of your culture and all that type of thing like I remember in

my first perm I'm natural now but when I was in kindergarten I got a perm

told my mom that I want my hair to be straight like the girls in my grade because I thought that straight hair was the

beauty and then in seventh grade and a middle school

group I guess in school because that's when Middle School is when

to vocalize what they're learning at home and what they

and I was vocalizing the black lives matter movement while people around

want to speak on any of that I didn't they just they were just acting like or they didn't know

was going on in the major world like Trayvon Martin died when I was in sixth grade

Snapchat and that's how the thing people would always just take offense to it and at school

my shoes and over social media have to get him he's arguing mattress with the people in my grade

a terrorist organization or that the phrase Mentone Lee black lives matter and they

know people are killing people who look like me and there's not okay and they're killing

like me and that's not okay so from sixth grade on I was

the activist in my grade or the you don't want to argue with

down from you and not a type of thing so moving forward into 10th

founded as a segregation Academy meant to keep segregation alive and profession and

against the Brown versus Board decision so I started challenging

black students in the school more and make

us because we were there but there wasn't really a safe space meme for us

could go and actually talk about what we might overhear in classroom or have a conversation

of our classmates about her and that type of thing and feeling uncomfortable all the time with

except for the lunchroom when we would all sit together like we had a black kid quote unquote lunch

act like you 24/7 a day being able to come sit at a lunch table with

look like you and automatically get everything that you're saying where you don't have to explain why you're

doing your hair last night is refreshing everybody needs that 20-30 minutes in the day she just

themselves fully and take a break from having that mask on that private school in Montgomery

space for black kids like I led the Black History Month assembly from 10th to

a club meant to be a safe space for not only black kids but also minority kids in

that type of thing and this past year we had the biggest

our who transformed our theater into a museum and it had four major sections

a walkthrough museum for the last week of February for that whole

and out of the theater in our free periods before school after school wherever we can find

and when I say we I mean the black kids at the school were always working the

we were in cuz it was from all the way from 7th grade to 12th grade helping

and it got the attention of media of throughout the city and it felt like

in our culture was be appreciated and not appropriated and

moving forward I've graduated or Kobe head and school got out

the recent death of George Floyd a matar Bree Brianna Taylor and so many more

black person in America I decided that I really wanted to take the

a damn a and translate it to a bigger scene so I'll plan a protest with the help of candida

at protest that we March from the from the Legacy Museum

more the protest to be Truth and Reconciliation by members of the community here really come up and speak their

how they feel about our city state and nation and say what

a very powerful tool when it comes to getting Justice and having forgiveness in the community and

make that growth but the truth has to come out first and when I say the truth I don't

I mean the truth is that is going to hit you in your soul and make you think and make you feel

the persons in the most candid ways whether that's you

using a form that is a part of your truth and nobody should be able to tell you I put restrictions

you say your truth and I really wanted that to be the biggest the biggest

we had a Reconciliation which was we invited a lot of whatever they're

a lot of councilmen and a lot of city and state officials out to the

of them were in the they were in the crowd but they weren't I'm

didn't want their presents to be known we also had the n-double-acp and Poor People's campaign

the city directly it was really beautiful to see people finally get their

until they were able to be heard and then after the protests we didn't want the frame to die

the way we matter Montgomery as an organization where filing be a 501 c 3

the voice of the youth because I found that in our city young people know what's

our city but we don't know how to a vote that change and it's hard to get people to

Montgomery is a way to unify that voice indirectly take it to the sort to the

the changes that we want to see so right now in my organization we're

a youth Council to be put on the Montgomery Public School Board and we are

a voting activist on a voter registration and turnout campaign in the

the summary of my story is that if you see a change

change that you want to see if you see a place where that isn't right

ways to fix it don't just come to the table complaining and not have any recommended

because that's taking two steps forward and five steps back in that gives it room to be put on the back burner

like this in this is how I think we should fix it they can't put on the back burner and they cannot ignore you because

a plan and I'm just very grateful to have met the people that I've met in the past couple months

Storybooth Montgomery

Grace Jackson

Aug 5, 2020

.css-1rjqsga{display:block;font-weight:500;}Storybooth .css-mc2e3p{font-weight:300;font-size:87.5%;}Montgomery

Grace Jackson

Aug 5, 2020

Storybooth Montgomery