Daizha Green is the only student at USC to receive the MLK Social Justice Award for her work toward racial equity in the classroom and on this campus. She was honored at a breakfast on Friday, alongside three faculty members, for exemplifying Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophies and working towards equity for all.
Green, a fourth-year early childhood education student, is the co-founder and president of REACH (Race, Equity and Advocacy in Childhood Education), an organization on campus which meets to discuss social justice for young children in a classroom atmosphere. One of Green’s goals is to appreciate and celebrate the backgrounds of all students so that they can feel comfortable in the classroom and be inspired to learn.
“I really, really truly care about them and where they come from, and I want to value their outside lives,” she said.
Education professor Meir Muller, the advisor for REACH, is confident in Green's ability to inspire youth and educate the next generation of students.
“She’s a role model to the young children that she serves and that she’ll serve for her career as a teacher, and she is also a role model for her peers," he said. "She is willing to put issues of equity and race on the forefront of her agenda ... it enables her peers to do the same.”
Green is known for her unabashed talent for cultivating conversations surrounding racism and figuring out ways to combat it, and she strongly stands behind her beliefs while still leaving room to listen to others. Education professor Susi Long, who teaches the Urban Education Cohort, is delighted that Green received this award.
“Daizha sees herself as both a learner and a teacher in the work to help others think through issues of race and racism." Long said. "She draws people together in generous and life-changing ways.”
Affectionately dubbed “Mama Daizha” at a young age, Green consistently took care of the people around her, and her mother noticed that kids just seemed to just gravitate towards her daughter and her home.
“She always had that nurturing nature about her,” said Sonia Green, Daizha's mother.
Green has always loved kids and plans to be a teacher for children up to 8 years old after she graduates.
“If I could impact the lives of the classes that I teach each year by just giving them the desire to learn and letting them know that they are worth every good thing that will come to them, if they are attentive and just have the desire to learn, that’s what I want to do in the future,” she said.