MH grew up in Maryland and DC and has six siblings. She likes to read and to write poetry and mini-stories. Her favorite author is Nina Simone. She hopes to become a photographer and a journalist and go to Howard.
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Christopher was born in Washington, DC. He is in the band and plays the tuba, also called the Sousaphone. He is also a Reach tutor. He goes to Simon Elementary School and tutors 2nd and 3rd graders. He is an AVID student and a member of the Ballou Story Project.
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NC lives in Washington, DC. She likes R&B music and her favorite artist in Jacques. She plans to go to college and become a family therapist. She has three sisters and one brother. She loves to be social and go out and do outgoing things.
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Allen grew up in SE DC and attended Ballou High School. He plays football and hopes to play professionally one day.
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Tarrance was a student at Ballou Senior High School when he authored his book. He is an athlete and loves sports. He would like to go to Miami University. Also he would love to become the most successful lawyer that ever lived. Ballou Story Project helped him better his writing skills and better his knowledge. He hopes to start a program of his own to inspire kids to dream big.
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Randy was born and raised in DC, and loves all genres of music. He's the leading bass drummer in band at school, and that feels both stressful and wonderful. The other thing he is passionate about is writing poetry. He found his passion for writing in the 8th grade. Sometimes he enjoys playing sports. Otherwise, he likes to be out of the house and going places.
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Nadiya grew up in SE DC. She likes to shop and she likes music, like R&B and rap. Her favorite artist is Lightshow. She attends Marshall University and plays basketball for them. She likes telling people what she wants to be in life and what she's going to do is to accomplish her goals.
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Mecca was born in Boston, MA and grew up in Washington, DC. She attends Tennessee State University. She wants to continue poetry and to become a social activist.
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Gerald was a student at Ballou Senior High School when he authored his books. He grew up in Southeast DC. He likes sports, like basketball and football. His favorite rapper is Montana of 300. He hopes to go to Virginia Tech, where he can play football and continue practicing archery. He has four siblings, three nieces, and two nephews. He lives with a single parent in a house full of joy.
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Essence grew up in Maryland and DC. She likes all types of music and plays the clarinet. Her favorite artist is Mary J. Blige. She plans to get her license for cosmetology. She keeps diaries and likes to write about her life.
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Dreonna is a strong-willed person who always has intentions to succeed. She is from SE DC but she assure you that her character opposes the stereotypes of her city. She loves laughing, playing the trumpet in the Ballou Majestic Marching Band, making people happy, and trying to be great at everything that she does. She is free-spirited and seen as a role model to many. She loves life.
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DaSean went to Ballou High School when he authored his book. He is in AVID, taking all honors classes. He is a very athletic person and likes to play sports.
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Writing for the Ballou Story Project was a challenge for Charles'e. She had never expressed her experience with people. She felt this helped release some mental tensions she has faced.
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Carl was born in 1998 on December 13. He is a very outgoing, open-minded person, and he loves to play sports and travel. He loves writing and using what he knows to make people proud. He views life and the world from a different perspective from everyone else.
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Aijah grew up in in Washington, DC. She attended Ballou Senior High School when she authored her book. She graduated in 2017. She is a band dancer at school. She dreams big dreams for herself and plans on going to college. Sometimes she writes poems for fun. Writing for Our Lives Matter was a good opportunity to tell people that it's good to try.
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My name is Najae Purvis (she/her). I was in middle school when I wrote my first book with Shout Mouse Press. I am currently a freshman in college studying engineering and am working on getting business registrations for multiple ventures. I plan on being a licensed architect, realtor, and entrepreneur. In my free time, I like to do creative projects like art, fashion, and design.
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Rose attended Imagine Hope Tolson when she authored her book. She likes to run track and play basketball and her favorite color is pink. She likes technology and in her free time she likes playing on her iPad. She likes cooking and doing hair. Writing this book is a pleasure to her because she gets to talk about how black lives matter.
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J’yona is very athletic. She dances, sings, plays basketball, softball and tackle football. Her experience as a football player on a boys team was very fun and terrifying at the same time and she would do it all again. She went to DC Prep Edgewood Middle Campus when she authored her book. She likes to eat fries and bacon (separately). Her favorite colors are purple, blue, and pink. She wants this book to inform kids around the world that don't experience these events to know what is going on in our world.
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T’Asia was in middle school when she wrote her first book The Day Tajon Got Shot and was 18 when she wrote What It Cost US. She is a graduate of Benjamin Banneker High School and is currently working and trying to reinvent my clothing business. When she’s older, she would like to be in the art field, working in fashion, painting, drawing, and modeling. She wants readers to know that when things get hard, you can still persevere and find things that make you happy so that you can keep pushing.
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Jeanet attended Imagine Hope when she authored her book. She likes to dance and sing and play basketball with her best friends. She loves to read and write. Her favorite book is called Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. This is the first book she has written and so far she has liked it! She hope that Tajon could still live, but she hopes that people will understand the book so they can change their attitudes and be more peaceful as a nation.
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