Speak Your Piece

“It would be great if we could have funding to have mandatory training programs for teachers so that they could be really educated about what's going on. So they're not only a teacher who just teaches academics, but they also teach morals and how this world functions.” Vaishnavi Kode, 14, of Apex, NC speaks about the critical need for culturally relevant education in NC public schools, which helps prepare students for their future engagement in our society.

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“I should not be scared to come to school. Schools need to be a place of love.” Yakob Lemma, 17, of Raleigh, NC speaks about how SROs are harming students and why the state needs to invest in more constructive strategies.

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Sonia Green, 17, of Durham, North Carolina speaks about how equitable funding for public school capital and enrichment activities is critical for providing equal educational opportunity to all children.

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“My dad wanted me to know that people like me, we weren't just slaves. We were also really successful mathematicians and astronomers and scientists.” Laura Norman, 16, of Cary, NC speaks about how the state’s public school curriculum does not adequately explore race relations, racial discrimination, and systemic racism. 

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I want to be a journalist… There is no school newspaper or journalism class at my school.” Jaileea Knight, 15, of Tarboro, NC speaks about how North Carolina’s failure to allocate resources toward the specific needs of students in rural districts unfairly limits student potential. 

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North Carolina student Francisco Ibarra speaks out. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many public school children to be exclusively on-line learners, North Carolina is still failing to provide the infrastructure for improved internet service state-wide, preventing some students from getting the education they are owed. 

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"We are all We The People. When you tell me that I can't participate in an election, you telling me I'm not a part of We The People...that makes me feel like you are still oppressing me, and you still seeing me as three-fifths of a human."

Daquan Peters is the Second Chance Alliance Coordinator at LINC Inc, a nonprofit in Wilmington, North Carolina focused on reentry for formerly incarcerated people and youth empowerment. As a someone who was formerly incarcerated himself and is on federal probation for a felony conviction, Peters talks about voter disenfranchisement and why it's vital to get the right to vote back. 

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"We are contributors, tax payers. We are entrepreneurs. We are business owners. We have mixed families. We are American...To me, it is important that I define who I am and I say my story, because it took me 25 years to be a U.S. citizen."

Victoria Velazco says political parties and policies at the federal, state, and county levels don't always consider Latinx voters. She tells us why she believes the Latinx vote is important and how she envisions the future of leadership in the United States. 

Velazco is the founder of VIDA Familiar Latina Magazine and Vida Translations. She is currently pursuing her master's degree in clinical social work at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. 

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Payal Shah is a University of North Carolina student from Marshallberg, NC – a predominantly white and conservative town of 400 in Down East, North Carolina.  As Shah heads to the voting booth for her first time this week, she thinks about Presidential rhetoric. And how it trickles down to affect how her family is treated in Marshallberg.

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What does an oyster farmer think about when he heads into the voting booth? Kyle Frey, owner of Crystal Coast Oysters, speaks to how he'd like to see elected officials think about environment and jobs. 

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