At just 16 years old, Calhoun High School junior Anisah Brown is already making waves as a fearless voice for racial justice.
Chosen as one of only eight students in Nassau County for a coveted summer internship with ERASE Racism, Brown is using her platform and previous experiences to challenge inequality, spark conversations, and push for lasting change in her community. Her advocacy continued this summer.
Brown’s resume and essay stood out among the 56 applicants for the paid internship that runs through August 7 and she is already making an impact after the first four weeks while working with influential professors from California State, Stony Brook and Yale, Vassar, and the University of Tennessee.
“I was really shocked,” Brown said on being selected. “I felt like it was deserved, but at the same time, a lot of other people applied for it. So, for me to get it, it was more personal. I was so happy.”
Many applicants attended the ERASE Racism’s Long Island Leaders of Tomorrow Conference hosted by the Office of Equity and Inclusion at Hofstra last March. Over 170 students across 18 Nassau school districts participated in interactive workshops, peer networking and thought-provoking discussions to learn about the history of racism and how it still impacts today’s society.
“She was one of the students who put together the conference from March,” said ERASE acting president April Francis Taylor. “So, her leadership skills and helping to create the conference and she was one of our lead speakers. And at our annual ERASE Racism benefit, she was one of the speakers to speak to all of our funders to show the impact of the program has had on her.”
Brown was already a member of ERASE’s student task force and that gave her a leg up in the competition for those eight spots, according to Taylor.
“Seeing her leadership skills, her auditory skills and her lens for wanting to change some of the things that are happening in her district, [that is] what made her stand out a bit more than the other applicants because of the work she’s been doing with ERASE Racism,” Taylor said.
According to its website, ERASE Racism’s mission it to ‘expose forms of racial discrimination, advocate for laws and policies that eliminate racial disparities, increase understanding of how structural racism and segregation impact our communities and region, and engage the public in fostering equity and inclusion.’
Taylor said that during the internship, students spend two days at the organization’s headquarters in Garden City and the other three virtually learning from different professors. They take what they learn and put it into a project that will impact their community or school district.
Without getting into specifics, Brown says she has seen instances of racism at her school (Calhoun’s racial breakdown in 74% white, 14% Hispanic, 8% black, and 4% multiracial, according to GreatSchools.org) and wants to spend her final two years there continuing her research project on how schools counteract racial slurs and enforce punishment for such offenses.
“I feel that in not just my high school but other high schools, a lot of kids get away with saying racial slurs, whether it’s antisemitic or it’s against a certain community,” she said. “I feel like a lot of teachers and administrations have a blind eye against it and when they do see it, they give them the bare minimum sentence.”
Brown credited her auditory skills to her mother Barbara, who was the first to suggest her contacting ERASE when planning her Black History Month exhibit this past school year.
“I give all of the credit to my mom because I would not be where I am today because of her,” she said. “She pushes me to do my best and she pushes me to try for the best in general.”
The exhibit, which she wanted to display on the high school auditorium stage, featured artifacts provided by Unspoken History Treasures of Massapequa that included historical pictures, chains, whips, cotton, inventions by African Americans that were never patented by them, signs representing the Jim Crow era, and guest speakers. She wanted the show to be viewed by any student during their free periods, social studies and English classes.
Brown said she went away for her sister’s birthday a week before the event, and upon returning, she discovered that it was moved to the less spacious library, and could only be viewed by freshmen who would visit on a rotating basis during their social studies and English classes.
“I left it up to the teachers and the administration to figure out the event, and it was different from my initial vision,” she said. “What was concerning me was the attendance. I initially wanted it for the entire school, but my school made the decision while I was away to only make it for the freshmen because there was a schedule issue. Not everyone has the same social studies and English time and period.”
The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District did not return a request seeking comment about the switch by press time.
Unspoken founder Carol Gordon was one of the speakers at the exhibit. Despite the revised plan, Gordon still came away impressed by Brown’s tenacity and was excited for her future.
“It’s her drive, it’s her leadership,” she said. “At her age, can you imagine what she will be like when she gets to the 12th grade? Oh, my goodness!”
Brown wants to continue being a civil rights activist and pursue a law degree in criminal justice after graduation. She already gained experience in that field by interning for Hempstead Village Justice Brianna A. Vaughan earlier this year. She will resume shadowing her in September.
Brown views herself as a ‘strong’ role model and often gives advice to others on how they can get involved with the cause. She feels that if more voices are heard, there will be a greater chance for change.
“We have to teach the next generation to speak up and refuse to stay silent when they see injustice, no matter where it is,” she said. “You have to be able to have a sense of boldness to challenge it. You don’t get anywhere by staying silent.”
