Student Spotlight: Myra Richardson

Photo and story from The Advocate

As a child, Myra Richardson says she was always involved in causes at school. When she was 17 and her hometown was roiled in racial tension, she couldn’t stay on the sidelines.

Richardson and fellow high school students Raheejah Flowers and Jeanette Jackson planned and organized a peaceful, 8,000-person protest over the shooting death of Alton Sterling during a confrontation with two Baton Rouge Police officers in 2016.

“Alton Sterling’s murder was a catalytic moment for me and transformative,” Richardson said. “I think I tapped into some of my innate talents, which were mobilizing people and getting people to empathize with situations they previously weren’t thinking about.”

A senior political science major at Southern University, 21-year-old Richardson has received the University of Chicago Leadership Award for young leaders, the United Way and ExxonMobil Pass the Torch Award for work to eliminate bigotry and the NAACP Montague Cobb National Award for health advocacy.

For the full story, click here.