Community has always been at the heart of Parker’s ideals, and doing their best to support everyone in that community has been instilled in each one of its students. Even Parker’s mission statement tells its students and staff that “relationships and community are what make them respectful, capable, and dedicated citizens.” Becoming well-rounded global citizens has been fostered in so many ways, such as all the clubs, committees, and opportunities students have to learn about the world around them, and they can reach back to 2022 in order to pull forward a talk given to juniors by renowned Disability Justice Activist, Anita Cameron.
Cameron found her roots in transportation accessibility before branching out to advocating for voting rights and community involvement for people with disabilities. She’s been arrested 140 times for civil disobedience over her 40 plus year career and is still actively pushing for young people to speak out.
Cameron’s work is an example of how Parker allows students to learn more about opportunities to better their communities. Parker is home to many activist student-run clubs and committees, including, but not limited, to the Social Justice Committee, Reproductive Justice club, and the newest addition, the Parker Politics club, which replaced the now extinct Parker Democrats club.
Social Justice Committee Head Eva Jakobe said, “One of my favorite committee events to date was a collaboration between the Social Justice Committee and the Pride Committee in which we heard from the Center on Halsted about the healthcare resources and community support they provide to young LGBTQ+ people. I think this event is illustrative of my favorite features of the committee. It was inspired by the passions of my committee members and gave participants a way to translate their synthesis of issues of injustice to tangible action,” Jakobe said.
Not only doesd Parker know that students are making a real difference, but also, members of the Parker community can clearly see how passionate and dedicated they are to the process of putting in the work. Along with that, Jakobe shared that “While I aim to dedicate my career to addressing educational disparities, identity-based censorship, and the inequalities perpetuated by the justice system, the work I led the Social Justice Committee in pursuing is inspired by the passions of representatives.” Her work is community-based, thriving off the interests and dedication of the committee members which she believes is “extremely important to making a change.”
“I succeeded at my old school,” new-to-Parker freshman Siobhan Tran said. “But that chapter has ended. High school is a new chapter with new people and new challenges, and I plan to be the change and fresh mind that we need.” Tran is a great example of the drive and ambition that Jakobe talks about, and they’re motivated to bring the best out of the Parker community during their time on the Social Justice Committee.
That’s not the end of activism at Parker, either. Sophomore Anaïs Morris, a head of the Reproductive Justice Club, tells us that they’re “forging ahead with hosting speakers and planning events.”
“RJC also held the first Youth Reproductive Justice Summit in Chicago back in January, which was crazy exciting,” Morris said. “We’re in the process of planning another right now, reaching more students across Chicago and more amazing speakers.” Morris is clear on her point: now that the RJC has gotten started, they’re not planning on slowing down now.
Anita Cameron reminds students, “Civil rights are not given. You must fight to get them, then, fight to keep them.” Eva Jakobe is encouraged. “Parker students are finding their feet firmly rooted in the soil of their communities and are actively engaging with each other and the world around them to better the place we all live in.”