Staff Reports | Community Updates
Hundreds of students, educators and community members gathered at Saguaro High School on Wednesday, Jan. 15, for the 26th annual Youth Voices Event honoring the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The event, organized in partnership with Scottsdale’s Community Celebrating Diversity Board, highlighted student perspectives on civil rights, identity and civic responsibility, according to a press release.
The program opened with students from Saguaro’s elementary feeder schools leading the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by performances from the Saguaro High School orchestra, which presented the National Anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Student speakers then shared reflections on resilience, belonging and the importance of using their voices to advocate for others.
Student speaker Erevelia Freeman encouraged peers to approach challenges with confidence, emphasizing the importance of self-belief when facing adversity.
“If you go into a situation feeling defeated, you already are,” Ms. Freeman said. “Don’t think that you don’t have every opportunity as anyone else because of your race, because you do,” Ms. Freeman said.
The final student address was delivered by Makenna Douglas, who reflected on her family’s history and the preservation of cultural traditions through basket weaving. Douglas described learning the craft at her grandmother’s table and imagining generations before her practicing the same patterns under far different circumstances.
“When I finally did learn to weave a few days later at my Qua’qua so’oh (Grandmother’s) table, I thought of her 80 years ago creating the exact same pattern as me,” Ms. Douglas said. “I imagined the fear she must have felt at her residential school, being punished for speaking her language, forced to take care of younger kids, not knowing when she would be home.”
Mr. Douglas says the tradition carried stories of perseverance, memory and survival across generations.
“I imagined girls throughout centuries learning in the exact same place as me, weaving while hiding from missionaries or army officers,” Ms. Douglas said. “I felt every dinnertime story. My teenage grandfather in the military or my grandma making it to the White House. I wove every story I’ve ever been told into a simple diamond pattern.”
The event concluded with a keynote address by civil rights leader and historian Dr. Mary Frances Berry, a former chair of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and a founder of the Free South Africa Movement. Dr. Berry praised the students’ reflections and the school community’s commitment to justice.
“I came here with something on my mind to talk about with this community,” Dr. Berry said. “I’ve changed my mind completely by what I’ve found here, in particular, in this school. I am just overwhelmed by the warmth, by the commitment, the spirit,” Dr. Berry said.
