Activist in the making: Jibria Greene

Jabria Greene, former Blueprint Conference attendee and panelist for the 2015 Blueprint Conference.

Sisterhood is at the center of the 9th Annual Blueprint Conference for Girls organized by the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College, June 13-14 at Simmons College. Eighteen-year-old Jibria Green attended the conference the last three years and is looking forward to participating in this year’s conference. In the fall she is headed to Northeastern University to study political science on a full financial ride, and though the Blueprint Conference isn’t the only reason she’s so grounded, Green does credit the conference with providing her lasting memories of a safe space where one can be themselves. “They [the women at the conference] created an atmosphere where it was really about sisterhood. I really wanted to be around them and be a better me,” she said.

The young activist in the making is currently a student at the Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester, MA. She’s a soccer player and a lover of the arts, but lately, Green has found herself getting more involved with issues of racial injustice. “You know what’s interesting, I have been getting more involved. I worked with the NAACP doing volunteer work. Everyone can’t be in the background,” she said.

Green comes from a large family and has five siblings whom she looks up to. “They are the most influential people outside of my mom and dad. I think they made it OK for me to strive to do the things that other people deem out of reach. They held me to a very high standard. Without that, I wouldn’t have pushed myself. I wouldn’t be able to fail at things and be comfortable in my discomfort. It’s about the people before me and the people after me,” she shared.

This multi-talented teenager has big plans to change the world.  She’s considering becoming a lawyer so she can familiarize herself with the judicial system within which we are all forced to function. She’s concerned with racial injustice as well as the portrayal of people of color in the media, and is looking to gain the knowledge and the power to change things. Green shared how powerful it was to be at past Blueprint Conferences, surrounded by women of color whose mission it was to help each other succeed. It looks like the conferences are working. Green’s life philosophy:

“I hope for the best and I plan for the best.”    

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