By Alexandria Leatherberry
The Truth Reporter
Toledo Excel held the 41st Annual Aspiring Minority Youth conference at the University of Toledo Student Union Saturday January 25. The conference has held space for the youth to be empowered and connect with community leaders since 1984. The conference is a highlighted youth
development experience for their community partnerships and drive for exceptional leadership through workshops, discussions and notable keynote addresses. Past conferences have included speakers such as: Yusef Salaam; member of the Central Park Five, now known as the Exonerated Five, and actor Hill Harper.
Leading the keynote address this year was award winning actress and author, Diane Guerrero. A star of “Orange is the New Black;” Disney’s “Encanto;” and CW’s “Jane the Virgin,” Guerrero shares her experience with government deportation actions in her book In the Country We Love, where she details the effects of such governmental actions on family separations.
Guerrero shared with the attendees of the Aspiring Minority Youth Conference her endeavors to make her experience of family separation “worth it.” She described how she found confidence thorough the acceptance and awareness of her ability and talent to achieve amidst social and economic inequalities. “Now I get to enjoy who I am and live authentically” said Guerrero.
Following Diane Guerrero’s address, Rhonda Sewell, the Toledo Museum of Art’s director of Advocacy and External Affairs, led a discussion with Jason Reynolds, a number one New York Times bestselling author.
Reynolds award-winning written work includes, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (with Ibram X. Kendi), All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely); and Long Way Down. Most notably Reynolds authored two books of the MARVEL comic book series: Miles Morales-Spiderman. Reynolds proposed that attendees not limit their ideas of achievement based upon systematic merit.
“If any of you happen to not be 4.5 students, you can be excellent too,” said Reynolds reminding the attendees that there are measurements of success based upon character and ethics.
The former members of Toledo Excel, along with Director David Young, closed out the ceremony with final remarks. The conference in fellowship ended so that attendees were allowed to meet the star-studded guest of the session.