A voice full of vindication uttered vulnerable words of lived experiences, educating and inspiring the crowd of listeners. 

Mikayla Vazquez, a senior at Manchester High School, was selected as the keynote speaker at the 40th annual Dr Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. This event highlights King’s valuable contribution to the development of human rights; one that has helped ignite Mikayla’s multifaceted passions.

In school she is notorious for being a powerful voice, a trait that can be found in her beautiful writing. Vazquez is a human rights activist, poet, and vulnerable voice that will have an undeniable impact on our generation’s future. 

One of the most valuable aspects of Vazquez’s work is the infusion of her own lived experiences woven throughout her literary masterpieces. She uses the power in her experience to simultaneously comfort and inspire her audience. 

In the speech she recently delivered, she used her racial and ethnic experience to relate to the audience. 

“I felt like I was born in exile. I felt the injustice of being so disconnected from my race and culture, like I had to play 17 years of catch up connecting with where my ancestors come from, and my Blackness, like an old friend,” Vazquez shares. 

Not only does the incorporation of her own lived experiences help others, but it shows a level of maturity in Vazquez that very few people her age harbour. She finds inspiration in the relationship she has with this aspect of her identity, further touching on what inspires her to write. 

She mentions, “A lot of this process, I self discovered by writing. My work is done to give voice, and to create a dialogue between two different cultures.”

Writing was her solace, her answer to deeply connecting with her cultural identity. Her continued effort in sharing this experience sheds light on this difficult concept, creating both important conversations and a sense of community. 

With her raw talent and passionate spirit, Vazquez has an undeniably bright future. Alongside aspirations to continue her poetry, writing, and activism, her ultimate goal is to become a lawyer. Through her work, she will inspire change this world needs to see. 

At the end of her speech, she reminds the audience, “Silence enables racism, discrimination, oppression, and violence everyday, so hold onto your resistance. If it’s hard to sing with a piece of universe in your throat, you can hum. If nothing else, leave here humming.” 

MHS, let us support the advice she gave us. Let us hum.