Photos: Confronting racism and a pandemic, the Class of 2021 reflects on America
One young woman grew alarmed when she saw Confederate flags pop up around her small town. Another student often quietly knitted to persevere through stress. A Black teenager in the South feared racist violence more than a virus. These students have all faced social and political change over their high school careers. They were freshman when Donald Trump was elected the US president and after a summer of protests over racism and violence they are graduating under the pandemic’s shadow. Reuters captured conversations with members of the Class of 2021 that open a window on where America - from Maine to California - stands now and its future.
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Zoe Isabella Rosales, 18, poses for a portrait in the front hallway of Marysville High School in Marysville, California on May 25. Rosales got a scholarship to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She aims to become a physician. The pandemic, Rosales told Reuters, has shown her how privileged she has been to have relatives who see education as a priority - and even to have simple tools like internet access that many students in her old foothill community lacked.(Brittany Hosea-Small / REUTERS)
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Zoe Isabella Rosales, 18, stands in line outside the Marysville High School gymnasium before receiving her graduation cap and gown in Marysville, California on May 25. "It's made me more grateful and more self-aware of my privileges," Rosales said. "But it's also made me really angry ... seeing other people who have had their whole world changed and their ability to learn completely blocked."(Brittany Hosea-Small / REUTERS)
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High school senior, Shane Wolf, 18, attends an online class in which Native American students meet regularly with a Lakota elder, Sid Whiting, in Denver, Colorado on March 19. Whiting, a Sican'gu Lakota northern traditional dancer and singer who mentors Native American Denver Public School students, said, young people want to know their heritage. "Their thirst for knowledge, it keeps me going. It keeps me on my toes."(Kevin Mohatt / REUTERS)
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Shane Wolf, (C), 18, moves his tassel signifying his official graduation from high school in Denver, Colorado on May 27. Wolf, who was accepted to the University of Denver, said success once meant wealth. "But now I'm really focused on the environment," he said. "Because of my culture, my mom and my grandpa." "I feel like we as young people have this sense of urgency and responsibility," Wolf said. "This generation just has such a responsibility to really save this planet."(Kevin Mohatt / REUTERS)
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