Finding Our Voices: Detroit Students Step Up for Voting Rights

The right to vote was won by people who organized, asked questions, and showed up in person. This October, buildOn in Detroit students did just that.

In multiple in-class service-learning lessons throughout the month, students explored the history of voting rights, learned who represents them in state and local government, and found out how they can have a say in the decisions that shape their community.

Then they put those lessons to work. They wrote voter-engagement postcards, took their questions to elected officials at a legislator forum, went door-to-door encouraging their neighbors to vote, and ran information tables at community service events.

This is what civic action looks like when it starts with service: learning the history, asking questions, and showing up for neighbors.

What You’ll Find in This Story

• How buildOn in Detroit students studied voting rights and who represents them at the state and local level
• What happened when students put their questions directly to elected leaders at Wayne State University Law School
• How they took civic action across Detroit, helping to shape their city’s future

Learning Their Rights

The unit started in class. Students learned about the laws and practices that kept many people—including Black Americans, women, and other marginalized groups—from voting throughout U.S. history. They also learned about the barriers to voting that still exist today. The lesson stayed with Simone Sumpter, a 12th grader at Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School. “We have persevered through women’s voting rights history, voting discrimination, as well as the civil rights movement,” she explains. “But our voting rights are still not being as protected as they are supposed to be.”

From there, lessons turned practical. Students learned what a state representative does, how to find out who theirs is, and which district they live in. They wrote letters to their own state representatives and studied how misinformation spreads. 

“We have persevered through women’s voting rights history, voting discrimination, as well as the civil rights movement. But our voting rights are still not being as protected as they are supposed to be.”

Simone Sumpter, Senior at Martin Luther King, Jr. Senior High School

A Conversation With the People Who Represent Them

After learning about voting rights in the classroom, students took those lessons out into the community. On October 8, buildOn held a legislator forum at Wayne State University Law School, where 95 buildOn students put their questions directly to the leaders shaping policy in their city and state. State Representatives Donavan McKinney, Stephanie Young, Veronica Paiz, Tyrone Carter, and Joe Tate, City Council Member Mary Waters, and Detroit School Board Member Jeremiah Steen all attended.

The forum was one piece of a broader partnership with Wayne State Law School. Wayne State students also visited buildOn classrooms throughout the month to lead their own lessons on voting rights, and buildOn staff visited campus to watch student presentations and give feedback.

For students, the chance to speak directly with elected officials mattered. “Elected officials can let you know directly what’s going on in the community and in Lansing,” said Jyera Tarver, a 10th grader at Mumford High School. Asked what issue matters most to her as a young person, she pointed to something she sees every day: “I notice a lot of students don’t have safe routes to and from school.” At the forum, she says, the officials were paying attention. “They listened to us and the concerns that we have.”

Simone used her turn to ask Representative Young what service means to her. Rep. Young had volunteered alongside buildOn students at Rouge Park, and she remembers how they approached the work. “It was absolutely amazing,” she beams. “You never had to say, ‘What are you doing over there, why are you waiting for instruction?’” she added. “They always came up to me going, ‘what’s next?’ Knowing how dedicated they are to community service was just heartwarming.” 

Her reason for being at the event that night was simple. “It’s always important for me to be in the room with students, because people talk about them being the future. They’re the right now.”

“It’s always important for me to be in the room with students, because people talk about them being the future. They’re the right now.”

Michigan State Representative Stephanie Young

Seeing officials up close also reminded students of the possibilities in their own lives. State Representative Donavan McKinney is a buildOn alum, and students were thrilled to meet him in person. Watching someone from their own neighborhood and community serve in public office told them they can follow that path too.

From Classrooms to Doorsteps

The forum was the centerpiece of the unit, but the work didn’t stop there. Students wrote voter-engagement postcards in class, after school, and at the forum itself, and over the course of multiple weekends throughout the month. Simone says the postcards gave students a way to express themselves creatively while making an impact. “These postcards aren’t just cute little decorations,” she explained. “It allows students to bring creativity to spreading awareness about voting.”

Students took those postcards out of the classroom and into neighborhoods across Detroit. Going door to door, they hand-delivered the postcards and talked with neighbors about voting. Simone says projects like this help young people build connections with the people around them. “It brings in having people my age learn more about voting and the people around them so we can become closer as a community and figure out why voting is important.”

Later in the month, students ran voter-engagement tables at service events across the city, including Trunk or Treat events, so they could talk with neighbors in person. Jyera saw a connection between that kind of service and who shows up to vote. “Doing service out in the community may encourage people of age to vote because they see that the younger generation cares.”

What Service Means to Detroit Students

Underneath the postcards and panels is a bigger question for these students: who is listening to them? Simone had a clear answer for the officials in the room. “Usually we feel very misunderstood and feel like we don’t have anyone to speak to or even anywhere to go.” Organizations like buildOn, she says, give students somewhere to put their energy. “We’re resilient, passionate, creative. Every positive thing you can think of. Usually when people think of Detroit, they don’t think of the youth here being impactful, but that’s exactly what we are.”

For her, service has helped her get to know Detroit itself. “I grew up in Detroit but I never knew a whole bunch about it, let alone the history. But the more I started to engage with buildOn and get more into my community, I started to love it even more.”

“Growing up, I always felt like I didn’t have a circle surrounding me,” she adds. “But now, I feel like I have a bigger family. I’m closer to the city I grew up in and I make more of a change than I thought.” 

“When people think of Detroit, they don’t think of the youth here being impactful, but that’s exactly what we are.”

Simone Sumpter

Staying Connected, Staying Engaged

Representative Young had a message for students that fit the whole unit: officials want to hear from them, including those under 18, and the way to start is by reaching out. “Know that we’re accessible, and not only that, but that we care, and that we want to hear from them,” she emphasizes. “Stay connected and stay engaged.” 

Seeing buildOn students get involved gave her hope for the future. “There’s a saying, ‘Nothing about us without us,’” Rep. Young explained. “And when young people are showing up about those issues that affect them, it’s a game changer.”

From classrooms to their neighbors’ doorsteps and a room full of elected leaders, buildOn in Detroit students are showing up. And their city is taking notice. 

If you want to help support students in Detroit and across the U.S., consider making a tax-deductible donation to support buildOn’s work today.