My name is Amir Duke…

…a sophomore Economics Major attending Morehouse College from San Diego, California. Attending an HBCU has opened my eyes up to many opportunities in the black community.

I’ve learned so many precious facts about my history and culture. Being able to meet and interact with so many brilliant African Americans from all respected HBCU’s in the AUC has been humbling. For Donald Trump to label African Americans as thugs, it is disrespectful to us but our ancestors too. As a student attending an HBCU, I feel much safer on my campus than in the city. What those police officers did to George Floyd was inhumane, and we have every right to be angry because this has gone on too long.

“For Donald Trump to label African Americans as thugs is disrespectful…” 

This is 400 plus years of generational trauma, and when I get older, I don’t want my kids facing the same struggles. The Black Lives Matter movement is a way to express the fact that we are tired of being oppressed, we are exhausted of dealing with systemic slavery, and we are drained from the constant hate towards our people. We protest not only for George Floyd but for every life that has been taken from us.

Excerpts from Amirs Interview in the SDVoyager…

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amir Duke.

“Amir, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?”

From the start of high school, I knew that helping people and giving back was my passion; I did it to see the outcome of giving back. During my freshman year of high school, I joined a mentoring program called the Blue Heart Foundation. This organization focused on under-served youth ages 13-18 in the greater San Diego County community.

The Blue Heart Foundation is also a non-profit organization that mainly dedicates its time to give back to the community, S.A.T. & A.C.T. prep work, and show persuasive examples of peer to peer mentorship. As I matriculated through high school, I stuck with the program dedicating every weekend to community service.

With the plan came many great benefits such as guaranteed four-year admissions to universities and colleges. By the end of my high school career, I’ve gained over 1,000 hours of service and was awarded senior academic stand out. As I went through the program, I achieved many accolades in my young academic career. Before choosing Morehouse College, I received three full scholarships from Central State University, Talladega College, and Virginia State University. Being accepted to 61 colleges and universities around the nation is just one major accomplishment.

I received the AAACE Scholarship, A.C.E. Scholarship, Blue Heart Foundation Scholarship, and HBCU Homecoming Tour Scholarship. Over the four years of high school, I have been acknowledged by receiving the Barack Obama Community Service Award, United States House Of Representatives Award, 78th California District Community Service Award, 79th California District Community Service Award, and Legacy Community Service Award. As my high school years ended, I knew that my success would follow at Morehouse College; as I completed my freshman year as an Economics Major, I was nominated to be a Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Scholar, joined many clubs such as the Pre-Alumni Association, and The Morehouse National Action Network. As the academic year concluded, I was able to start a business that helps young scholars in high school get prepared for college.

This business is a non-profit called College Qualified. College Qualified assists students with a highly customized service specifically tailored to each student’s needs. We offer a broad range of comprehensive college planning services, including admissions guidance, career exploration, comprehensive financial aid literacy, individualized mentoring, scholarship development, and university selection. Now that I’ve been able to get the hang of college and my non-profit, I plan to start many more opportunities for future leaders.

“We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?”

Read the Full Interview Here