Past Leader: Ida B. Wells

Ida B. Wells is known for being an investigative journalist, educator, activist, and researcher in the 19th to early 20th centuries. Throughout her lifetime she fought against sexism, racism, and violence. She used her writing abilities to elucidate the conditions of African Americans throughout the South. Way

before Rosa Park refused to move to the back of the bus, Ida B. Wells refused to move out of her own train seat and the authorities forcibly removed her from the train. She later won a lawsuit against the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1887, but the Tennessee Supreme Court shortly reversed the victory. Defeated, Wells began writing political columns in church newspapers. In 1891, she was dismissed from the Memphis school system for a strong article where she pointed out the funding difference in Black schools by the Board of Education. For the rest of her life, she would be a voice for civil rights, anti-lynching, segregation, and women’s rights.

In 1892, three of her friends were executed just for defending their small black owned grocery store against white people who tried to put them out of their thriving business. This incident angered the Black community and made her determined to investigate. She published her research, titled “Southern Horrors”, in local newspapers in 1892. The research showed the horrors of lynching in the south. Since, her work has been praised as being a key component to many other leading voices in the Black community.

Future Leader: Afomia Giday

Like many other Black women who were determined to be a powerful voice in their community, Afomia Giday (11) is proving everyday that she is a leading voice on our campus. While being the president of many clubs, Giday is known at South for her optimistic and driven mindset towards her academics, programs, organizations, and community. Afomia Giday serves as a member of the JROTC program, Gwinnett Student Leadership Team (GSLT), Student Council, amongst others and thrives in her academics.

So what pushes Afomia Giday to get up everyday and commit to being a leader? Afomia explains that her desire to leave her mark on the South is what keeps her grounded. In her freshman year, she joined Student Council as a way to branch out and meet other Comets as well as play an active role in her community. Afomia says, “everyone should be included [in the South Gwinnett community], so whenever I am helping to host an event, I try to think of ways that everyone feels comfortable, seen, and supported.”

Not only is she doing great things in our building, her selflessness has even impacted those overseas. This year, Afomia Giday helped host a blood drive in which donations were sent to help those in Ghana. This act, along with what she does on our campus each day, shows that Afomia is a natural leader in our building who shows empathy and care for those around her. In the future, Afomia hopes to mentor younger students at South to help them realize their potential and helping them connect to something that makes them passionate about being a Comet. She says this work and her mentorship will be the legacy that she would like to leave at South Gwinnett. In the words of Afomia,

‘true leadership is more than just a title, it’s a commitment.”