We live in a time where it seems we are going backwards on social equality. Social injustice is brewing right before our eyes and it seems there is nothing that can be done. It feels like our voices are useless.

For many, including myself, we are losing rights it seems silly to not even have. It is as if being alive is a new age crime that has been fashioned into handcuffs that only fit the wrists of some. With everything going on today, you can understand why it is important to go to a school that recognizes the social inequality and injustice within our community.

Initially, I never wanted to come to VCU. I thought it was way too close to home and I could not be myself here. I thought I needed to get far away from here to experience college for what it really is. I was deeply wrong. I have fallen in love with VCU and I feel more alive than I ever thought I would. Here, I am encouraged to open my eyes and me aware of the injustice instead of turning a blind eye. I am encouraged to organize. To protest. To speak out against what I see as unfairness. And I am also taught to not only recognize my oppression, but my privilege that many don’t have.

Being a black female living in America, you can understand why it is important for the place I call home to acknowledge the history of Richmond and its hand in the oppression of African Americans. I hope you can understand.

It was very moving to be at a Black Panther event one night and then at a Bryan Stevenson event the next day. To hear real life experiences of these people who have been fighting injustice for a better part of their lives was so moving. It’s amazing to have role models like them shown to us in a positive light. It is important that young people know what is happening out in the nation and see these people who challenge the social norm and aren’t afraid of giving up their basic rights so that others may have it.

I also learned a lot during these two events that has brought a new spark into my heart and is encouraging me to continue “beating the drum for justice.” If we want to see change, we must first act. We must go to where the problem is and act. We cannot just sit here and wait for change to happen around us. Taking that initiative and moving on your own is only the beginning. You cannot just give up when it becomes hard.

I am proud to go to a school that acknowledges the wrong in our community and is willing to help us to achieve the justice we crave.