March Summits aim to change Mays High's reputation, student outlook

ATLANTA - An event at Benjamin E. Mays High School on Thursday aimed to show students that violence does not have to have a place in their future. Last month, an after-school shooting there sent four kids to the hospital. Police say a 14-year-old shot four kids in the parking lot. 

They survived, and that teenager has since turned himself in, but now the entire southwest Atlanta community says they want better news to come from Mays High School.

"The incident that occurred didn't define us as a school," Assistant Principal LaToya Morgan said.

Mays students themselves say the Valentine’s Day parking lot shooting is not an accurate representation of who they are. 

"A lot of people don't have that example. They’re like I can be more than what I see every day in my environment," senior Cameron Green said. 

The "Sisterhood Summit" allowed girls to hear from women who are from their neighborhoods and have gone on to do impactful things.

"We had people from all over Atlanta reach out asking how they can support. We quickly had former Mayor Shirley Franklin, and Council woman Andrea Boone, along with 100 Black Women of Atlanta agree to participate," Morgan said. 

It's a two-pronged event: One this week for girls, one next week for the boys.

That way, school leaders say, students know what's been reported about their school doesn't have to be an indication of their future.

"They wanted to see people from their community who had actually made it out and been successful," Ramon Rivers said. Rivers also serves as assistant principal.

The two-and-a-half-hour-long event looked a bit like a college or career fair with booths and targeted talks. 

Thursday's event is just one of several ways senior Green says Mays has inspired her.

"I was kicked out of school. I was told I wasn't supposed to graduate or be in the 12th grade, but Mays accepted me and gave me a challenge to change my life for the better," Green said.

She says she's done that and events like this will encourage her peers to do the same.

Students are already looking forward to next Tuesday, when boys who attend Benjamin E. Mays will get to participate in their "Brotherhood Summit."