My name is Giovanny. I am thirteen years old and in eighth grade at Uncommon Bed-Stuy East Middle (UBEM). I have attended this school since fifth grade. I really like UBEM as I get so many opportunities to enjoy myself and share my thoughts without being afraid. One interesting fact about me is I’m left-handed, and even though most ordinary day-to-day tasks seem challenging, it’s great to be different. Another fact is I have the same birthday as Anne Frank, which is June 12. I really like this as it ties into my fascination with history and World War II. My favorite book is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Her dystopian novel intrigues me because it shows so much emotion on paper, which many authors aren’t able to do. Furthermore, she herself isn’t a problematic person and hasn’t gone on social media to like Tweets that support bigotry about people’s gender identity, as unfortunately some have. My heroes are my parents. My parents came to this country as hard workers and dreamers. They came here to allow me to achieve big in my education and life, which I sadly wouldn’t have been able to achieve in my home country, Mexico. I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer, especially an immigration lawyer, as I would be able to help people like my parents and many other Latinx immigrants who are in the process of becoming citizens. But if I don’t become a lawyer, I’ve always thought of becoming an author because of my creative side. I think some of my ideas haven’t been used yet as novels. But there’s always a possibility that one day I will go on stage and make a few jokes and become a comedian, as I feel like I’m able to make anybody laugh. 

This fall I joined BK2BAMA, a program that allows children like me to follow their passion for Black History and discover more. BK2BAMA focuses on the Civil Rights Movement, but also the years before it, and specifically America’s honest treatment of Africans and African Americans. I joined BK2BAMA because I have always been fascinated by history, including the truth about Black history. BK2BAMA will bring me to Alabama and Georgia to learn more about Black history. When I learned about BK2BAMA in seventh grade, I immediately wanted to sign up because I wanted to visit states with rich civil rights history like Alabama and Georgia. In fact, I was so excited, I wrote my BK2BAMA essay as soon as I got home on the last day of seventh grade even though the application wasn’t due until September. I’m really excited to visit Martin Luther King’s final home and tour Tuskegee University as it is my homeroom at UBEM. 

The Civil Rights Movement’s many protests, violent and peaceful, showed the entire country courageous activists would not stop until change came. Specifically, the Children’s Crusade inspires me because it proved not only adults, but children could protest. I can’t wait to visit Birmingham’s Kelly Ingram Park where the Children’s Crusade took place and speak with Terry Collins, who marched as a kid in 1963.