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NEIGHBORHOOD CELEBRATION

Tempe names winners of scholarships honoring civil rights activist

Posted 3/11/23

Two Tempe high school students will receive $1,000 scholarships for their leadership work in the community.

The Dolores Huerta scholarships will go to Rohn Ragland and Katie Ritchie “for …

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NEIGHBORHOOD CELEBRATION

Tempe names winners of scholarships honoring civil rights activist

Posted

Two Tempe high school students will receive $1,000 scholarships for their leadership work in the community.

The Dolores Huerta scholarships will go to Rohn Ragland and Katie Ritchie “for their civic engagement, community organizing and leadership,” a city release stated.

The pair will be honored during the Neighborhood Celebration on Saturday, April 1 at Kiwanis Park.

Dolores Huerta, 92, is a civil rights activist and community organizer who has fought for labor rights and social justice for more than 50 years. In 1962, she and Cesar Chavez founded the United Farm Workers union. In 2012, President Barack Obama bestowed her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor given in the United States.

Ragland works to overcome apathy among young voters, according to the release.

As president of Desert Vista High School's Black Student Union, he created a speaker series with prominent African Americans discussing the importance of voting and participating in the political process.

Also a winner of the 2023 MLK Diversity Award, he has served as a volunteer poll monitor, organized rallies and gone door to door to get out the vote.

“Katie Ritchie and her hot pink megaphone can be found amplifying voices at public rallies for women’s rights and other causes,” city officials said in the release.

She serves on the Arizona Governor’s Youth Commission, a group of 50 student leaders throughout Arizona who work to identify and address the challenges facing the state’s young people.

While leading the Education Workgroup, she focused on increasing equity among students and schools, providing materials in English and Spanish, digitally and in print.