The City of Akron celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day in advance and in a different way on Saturday with the Akron MLK Peace, Love and Justice Female Youth Symposium.
The event started as an idea for young women who wanted to see and hear from people who are local, who look like them and have achieved a measure of success.
"What we want to do is inspire the ladies to know first, to know what's out there, what can be, what are the possibilities, we want them to dream [and] break any glass ceilings," Akron Public Schools Superintendent Mary Outley said.
To do that, the superintendent and the other presenters who were either from Akron or have strong ties to the area, like U.S. Congresswoman Elia Skyes, gave the girls some insight.
”The mission is to redefine and actually recapture what it actually means to have good mental health. What does public safety look like, and how are we redefining community well-being?" said William Blake, chair of the MLK Weekend. "And when we include not only just residents that are 18 and above, but also our youth and giving their voice power, we are actually moving the needle forward to create the community we wish to see."
The ladies went to different workshops in small groups about mental health, healthy dating, college and career life and other important topics— teaching them to preserve and dream like MLK.
”You can't live in fear. You know, it's almost like failure is a good thing, because it means you tried okay, and you figured out, 'Hey, it doesn't work that way. Let me try something else,'" Outley said.
Nathan Jarosz, an Akron Public Schools board member, told News 5 what he hoped the youth took away from the event.
"I hope that the girls today feel empowered and feel that they have a right to be in any room that they choose with the right perseverance and with the right attitude and the right ambition. Nothing is limited to them," Jarosz said.
In case anyone wanted to see the impact from the day, the girls are designing a Gee's Bend-inspired quilt with different messages that will eventually hang in the Summit County courthouse.
Outley said she hopes the symposium jump-starts more community events that will help the youth in Akron.
