Youth Voices Rising: Aamir Robinson Talks Community and West Virginia With Eli Hale

By Black By God Youth Voices Rising

During Black By God’s Youth Voices Rising camp, Aamir Robinson had the opportunity to turn the questions toward another young West Virginian.

Robinson interviewed Eli Hale, a Charleston student who attends Capital High School, about his community, what could help young people feel more connected and what he wishes others understood about West Virginia.

Their conversation focused on something young people experience every day: where they fit within their schools and communities.

When Robinson asked what he would change to help young people feel more connected to their communities, Hale pointed to the relationship between schools and neighborhoods.

He said he would like schools to be more connected to where students live, allowing more young people to attend school with others who live around them.

That, Hale said, could help students feel more connected to the people in their own communities.

Robinson also gave Hale an opportunity to share a message about West Virginia with people who may only know the state through stereotypes.

“I just want people to know that West Virginia is a great place and that it’s not all the stereotypes,” Hale said. “It’s just awesome.”

The student-to-student conversation was another part of Youth Voices Rising: young people weren’t only interviewing community leaders. They were also listening to one another and asking their peers what they think about the places they call home.

For Robinson and Hale, that conversation became an opportunity for one young West Virginian to ask the questions and another to tell people what he wants them to know about his state — in his own words.