The seventh-grader from Cleveland plays football and basketball at University School, skis with his 9-year-old sister and wants to try out for track and field. He also reads historical fiction set in the 1930s and '40s and studies World War II history. His hero is Ralph Johnson Bunche, the first African-American male to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
I just love learning about the past and what all the people before me had to go through. It shapes who we are and what we're known for. Our past gives us an insight into not making the same mistakes, and it's very important.
I tend to worry about my future. I kind of get nervous, because what if in 20 years I don't have the job I want to have or I'm not as happy with my life. A lot of people ask me what I want to be when I get older. I say a lawyer, but if I'm a doctor or an accountant or a businessman, I just want to be happy with what I'm doing. I think being happy with what you're doing makes you want to be more successful. I would rather spend eight hours being happy than spend eight hours being miserable.
As an African-American male, it feels like I'm at more of a disadvantage from the start than other people of different races. It just makes me feel kind of, not unsafe, but it just makes me feel more cautious of what I say and what I do toward the police.
I think the police should be trained to use less violent force in certain situations, like with the case that happened in Cleveland with Tamir Rice. Before the police was out of the car, he shot Tamir. I think our grand jury system is a little off too, because police aren't above the law — they enforce the law. They should not be able to get away with as many things as they do get away with, like the Eric Garner case when he said, "I can't breathe." Then they used illegal methods to detain him. I think that was very unjust, and I just think we can improve our police force.
My long-term goals are to be an influential person on the world. I want my legacy to be great. I want to be a person who put us in a better situation than what we were before. I don't want to leave the world being just an ordinary person. I want to leave the world being known as someone who made an impact on the world.
