The Black Education Matters Student Activist Award board is proud to announce the 2024 winners: Jay and Anya Souza-Ponce! These two exceptional young people have done extraordinary work in the struggle against systemic racism and injustice. The BEMSAA provides a $1,000 award, public recognition of their work, and connection to a community of other young changemakers.

Fellow student activist Miles Hagopian said of Jay, “He has been working tirelessly the last years to put on educational events for the community around race, class, and imperialism. I have learned so much from him!” Longtime educator and organizer Jon Greenberg said, of Souza-Ponce, “Anya is literally changing the world. And she’s doing it now…Anya Souza-Ponce is not just the consummate student-activist, she is the consummate person: intelligent, dedicated, considerate, and extremely capable.”

Jay is a founding member of the Issaquah Student League and has worked tirelessly over the last years to organize popular education classes for youth and community. He has also helped to raise awareness and organize students in support of Palestinian liberation. Jay doesn’t only believe in educating the community but also in taking action around what is learned. He participated in the #TeachTruth day of action rally and has been a consistent organizer for honest education about all forms of oppression.

Anya Souza-Ponce, is a senior at Ballard High School and a member of the NAACP Youth Council. Her leadership in struggles for racial and social justice have been vital to the youth movement in Seattle. Her efforts include working to ensure Black Lives Matter at School Demands are implemented in the Seattle Schools, and providing leadership in the struggle to pass Seattle Public Schools Board Policy 1250, which puts youth on the Seattle School Board. Seattle Public School students are now enjoying their second year of education with students on the school board dais – in part because of Anya’s efforts! Anya has also lent her talents to the struggle for more mental health services in the schools,  abolishing the Highly Capable Cohort program, and ending gun violence targeting Black and Brown communities.

Jay and Anya Souza-Ponce have only begun their work for a better world, but it’s already clear that we will get there sooner with these two dynamic young people.