This week, Trinity City teen writer Cherielle Clark shares her perspective on the 2024 US Presidential Election.
What did this election mean for me?
by Cherielle Clark
As a black girl in America this election meant fear for me.
It was high stakes for everyone in my community
the stress level was higher than no other everyone
contemplating whether we would still be able to
access our normal day things or be able to do
our normal activities and
as a woman it was even more fearful because we are
being told that we don't have our own decision over our bodies
it felt as if we had no voice to advocate
for ourselves like the government did not care,
like the world did not care as
if they knew how it felt to be a black woman
in America then maybe they would understand
but for me i'm a teen in new age America living in New Orleans
still trying to find my way around the world still learning
and for me to be told that my education system would be lowered
and i would not be able to have the proper medical health for my body
as a growing teen and to see that some people in my community
did not care to go vote it made me feel angry
because it seemed as if they did not want to fight for better
education, housing, women's rights, food stamps,
healthcare, LGBTQ+, and more knowing that these same people
need, care and use these things to get by in life everyday
and would be lost if we did not have them
people care so full-hearted about unimportant
things but when it comes down to speaking up for our community
it feels as if no one has much to say but what most don’t know is when
you vote it's your voice its your way of telling the community and the
government how you feel towards specific situations and
what you think needs to improve in this world
so when you ask me what this election means for me it meant everything
because my daily use of life was on the line the way me and my family
make it in the world was at stake and when something like that happens you
realize how much everything you have could be taken away in just a split second
so every year around election day it brings fear for me because i know that
everything i have to survive all my dreams and hopes of going to college and
making it out of poverty being the 1 percent could one day not be accessible to me its scary so
not just this election day was high stakes but every election
is for people like me and people all over the world living in new age America.
Cherielle Clark is one of the co-authors of TRINITY CITY COMICS #2 (coming soon!) and a 10th grade student at George Washington Carver High School. When she graduates, she wants to attend an HBCU and study medicine. She loves to write because it helps her express herself in a creative way, and her favorite color is orange.
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