Towson Students Holding Rally To Encourage Voting

TOWSON, MD — A new human rights group founded by students at Towson High School will hold its first rally Wednesday. The group — We Are Gen Change —

“Our main goal at the rally is getting people our age to vote,” We Are Gen Change President Kenya Branche said in a statement. “In the last presidential election, a lot of young people didn’t think that their votes would count, and so they didn’t vote.”

The NAACP will have a voter registration table at the event, and free snacks and drinks will be provided by the parents of the founders of We Are Gen Change.

Curriculum is also a concern to the members of the group, who are students primarily in the Law and Public Policy program and are rising seniors at Towson.

"When you are a kid of color and sit in your classes, you are hearing all the history from the perspective of White men," Branche said. "The U.S. is very diverse it makes no sense that all the history is told from the perspective of the White men.”

The group of students who started We Are Gen Change said they came together after the death of George Floyd when there was momentum behind social change. All are rising seniors at Towson who have different backgrounds: Branche, Khoudia Dieye, Laura Fay, Patrice Gapaz, Jennifer Oluka and Madison Troutman.

“We also want to address inclusiveness,” We Are Gen Change Community Outreach Manager Dieye said. “A lot of Black history isn’t covered in schools. And it’s the same for Asian and Hispanic communities."

Here is the list of speakers, according to Baltimore County Public Schools, which posted a notice of the rally:

• Ruben Amaya, student at Stevenson University, Franklin High grad and former president of Baltimore County Student Councils
• Anthony Fugett, president of the Baltimore County NAACP
• Joshua Muhumuza, student member of the Baltimore County Board of Education and Dundalk High School senior
• Cheryl Pasteur, member of the Baltimore County Board of Education and former principal

The event will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 401 Bosley Avenue, outside the Baltimore County Circuit Court. Masks will be required, and social distancing will be enforced.