MIAMI – More than just a celebration to mark the emancipation of enslaved Black folks, Juneteenth is also a commemoration of resilience versus all odds.
This yr no one particular embodies that far more than this year’s Pass up South Florida Juneteenth, 16-yr-old Marie Guychar Nicaisse, who gets fired up chatting about the working day she received previously this 12 months.
“I did a poem as my talent for the reason that there was a talent,” she reported.
Nicaisse stated she felt stunning that day and felt the help of her loved ones, friends, and the neighborhood.
“It meant a good deal to me. It felt like I was significant in the environment. I was just obtaining love, a whole lot of like,” she explained.
Nicaisse, a junior at the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Substantial University in Miami, was born in Haiti. At 3 yrs previous, when her mother was at function, her earth adjusted for good.
“The roof of the home sort of fell on me and they had to, my cousin experienced to drag me out,” she said.
She survived the devastating earthquake in 2010 but was remaining without having the use of her legs. Her mother carried her about for two several years prior to they moved to the United States and acquired a wheelchair.
Nicaisse stated she owes it all to her mom.
“Acquiring to come to this state and combat just to deliver me up and clearly show me that, you know, you are in a wheelchair but that will not subject,” she reported.
That travel pushed her to contend and that was component of the reason the pageant director stated she is the great individual to put on the crown.
“I was acquiring ready to do it and she mentioned ‘Can I be in it?’ And I stated yes, you can be in it. You might be stunning. You have a stunning spirit,” reported pageant director Constance Robinson.
A attractive spirit and the enthusiasm to stand for various minority communities and train young girls just like her that anything is possible.
“This is what I ought to be carrying out. I really should have out executing this a prolonged time back,” she said.
Nicaisse stated she needs to devote the upcoming year teaching her peers about the which means of Juneteenth and also advocating
for extra ramps for those people in wheelchairs. She stated just one working day she hopes to be a lawyer.
