Black overcoming white. Black overcoming black. Cassie doesn't like viewing the world through those glasses, but those are the lenses she has. She knows her own history, and she has read enough to color in the lines behind her. Blacks, as far as she can see, are still climbing a white mountain.
Cassie says of racism.
Cassie wants nothing more, someday, than to embody her ideal of black womanhood - smart, independent, a champion and advocate, strong of heart and spirit. She's taking bold first steps through school and church. A junior at St. Paul's Central High School, Cassie is a tutor in the school's Minority Encouragement Program and a leader in Black Teens for Advancement. She recently earned an undergraduate recognition award from Central for her work in the minority education program and special honors for her work in the school district's Alternative to Violence program. She helped start a youth forum at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.