"Freedom Is Not Finished”: Youth Reflections on Freedom
- BCTRHT Team
- Jun 25
- 3 min read
Each Juneteenth, we gather to honor the struggles of the past and the hope of what’s possible. This year, hope sounded like the voice of youth in Battle Creek. Their words reminded us: freedom is not finished.
For the second year in a row, the Battle Creek Coalition for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (BCTRHT) partnered with the Juneteenth Family Day Celebration Committee to host a youth essay contest. What we received were not just reflections, but truth-telling. These essays hold up a mirror to our community and ask, “Are we ready to do better?”
Our community trusted us with this part of the celebration, and we carry that responsibility with care. Youth voice is a sacred part of our collective legacy and future. These youth reflections on freedom challenge us to listen more deeply, to lead with integrity, and to learn from those who are already shaping our world.
What We’re Learning from Youth Reflections on Freedom
One youth wrote, “Freedom is in knowing you’re afraid, and choosing to push forward because of a greater purpose.”
Another challenged us to think more deeply: “Just because slavery was abolished doesn’t mean freedom was handed to us.”
A third described freedom through lived experience. They found it in making their own decisions, being coached by Black women, cheering with friends, and claiming their future. “Being able to make my own decisions means so much to me, ”they wrote, “especially knowing my ancestors weren’t able to do so.”
These reflections offer more than perspective. They call us to action. They remind us:
Freedom is both historical and deeply personal. It lives in our institutions and our everyday lives.
Joy, education, and identity are not luxuries. They are core expressions of liberation.
Youth are not waiting for permission. They are watching how we show up, and how we don’t.
They name the contradictions between the world we say we want and the one we continue to maintain. They do this in real time, while navigating systems that too often silence, punish, or erase them.
Why Youth Voice Matters
At BCTRHT, we envision a Battle Creek where all can flourish. That future depends on how we listen to and support the youth who are already shaping it.
Too often, adults expect youth to inherit a broken world and somehow fix it later. But youth are not just preparing for the future. They are actively responding to the present with clarity, courage, and deep awareness.
They come of age in a time when truth is under attack, books are being banned, and history is being distorted. Yet they continue to speak. That is not accidental. That is legacy.
Their words challenge us to:
Tell the full truth, not just the comfortable version.
Create spaces for learning, healing, and growth, not punishment or perfection.
Protect the joy, identity, and voices of youth as sacred.
Live up to the world they already believe is possible.
When we listen to them, we remember how to be brave. When we walk with them, we begin to build something worthy of their vision.
A Shared Responsibility
We honor the past by actively building a future that centers truth, equity, and collective care. These young people carry the torch. We walk beside them. We clear the path. We make sure no one gets left behind.
Each of us has a role to play. Together, we shape the kind of community these youth already believe in.
Let’s build a Battle Creek where every young person is heard. Where every history is honored. And where every human being has the freedom to thrive.
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We proudly continue our partnership with the Juneteenth Family Day Celebration Committee and remain committed to amplifying truth and legacy through the voices that are shaping our future and our present.
Because freedom is not finished. And the next generation is already lighting the way.