By Cavarli Davis
To close out the year, the sixth-grade students at KIPP Academy Chicago participated in their very first writing competition: the On the Corner Contest. We asked students to write about a significant memory they experienced in the city of Chicago. They were prompted with questions such as: What is your favorite part about where you live? What would you want someone to know about your Chicago? Why is Chicago important to you? Out of 100 entries, we selected the top 6 stories to publish, sharing the voices of some of the youngest authors of Chicago’s history. We’re excited to announce Cavarli Davis as a competition finalist!
Model United Nations Fundraiser
Last year, KIPP Academy students and their teacher Ms. Harris founded KIPP’s first Model United Nations team. On March 26th 2020, Cavarli will be proudly representing the city of Chicago at the International Model U.N. Conference. Please help Cavarli and Ms. Harris’ team at KIPP make this dream come true by donating at the link below!
Laramie & Hirsch
My Grandma Vivian’s house is at the corner of Laramie and Hirsch. It is important to me because there was a time when my grandma and I had a big connection. We would talk about the world we live in, and how we could change it.
I remember when Lori Lightfoot was elected as the Mayor of Chicago. I listened to every single word that came out of her mouth on how she could change Chicago. Then tears began to drip down my black face and cheeks. I cried because her speech had the same empty promises made by previous mayors.
“What’s wrong?” My grandma asked me.
I asked, “Will this city and black people ever get the freedom that we deserve?”
My little sister was literally laughing at me.
I told her, “You really don’t understand as a black African American how life is for us.”
Do you know I cry every night and pray that when I wake up white people will stop overlooking or judging us because we are black? I pray every day that people stop getting hurt. Do you feel my pain? Do you?
I asked my grandma, “What if this world has slavery again? What if they treat us black kids like nothing again? What if we stay uneducated and less of us go to college, while more white kids go to college before us?”
My grandma told me not to think like that.
She said, “Cavarli, I believe you have the power to change this world and get all the education you need and deserve.”
I hugged my grandma so tight and said, “I will.”
I disagree with those that say Chicago is only full of violence. I believe Chicago is a unique place filled with unique people who will prove that this city is more than just violence.
