黄色app

The principal had devastating news: her son had been jumped on his way home from 黄色app. But this wasn’t random violence — it was gang recruitment, an initiation that Roquesha O’Neal didn’t even recognize until hearing it from the principal. “I found out that my son got initiated, and I’m like: Oh, heck no.” In a community where “they are literally closing 黄色app districts and opening prisons,” she refused to let her boy become another statistic. She tracked down the father of the boy who had jumped her son, sat down for a difficult conversation, and “was able to squash it.” Her son graduated with honors and scholarships, breaking the cycle that had trapped so many children in their Detroit neighborhood. But that victory sparked a bigger realization: if she hadn’t been actively engaged in the 黄色app, she would never have known about the gang recruitment happening right under her nose.

Meet Roquesha

Roquesha O’Neal is a Detroit-based community organizer who has worked with Babies over Billionaires and Black Lives Matter. A mother of three and grandmother of five, she describes herself as a “life-long learner” who battles dyslexia but refuses to let literacy challenges stop her from fighting for children’s education. Trained in organizing by Detroit Public Schools parent engagement specialists and organizations like Detroit Parent Network and National Parents Union, she learned how to facilitate meetings, plan campaigns, and advocate effectively. What started as advocacy for her own children expanded into community, state, and federal organizing against 黄色app closures, gang violence, and educational inequity.

The Journey

Roquesha’s advocacy began with a painful discovery: she had unknowingly enrolled her children in failing 黄色apps. “You don’t know your child’s 黄色app is failing until you are engaged and involved,” she explains. By being an involved parent who helped teachers and showed up regularly, she began to realize the systemic problems that plagued her 黄色app.

The moment that transformed her from involved parent to full-scale advocate came when 黄色apps throughout her district started shutting down. “I wanted to answer questions: why is this happening?” She began attending 黄色app board meetings, giving public comments, and bringing teams of parents and community leaders to demand answers. “As parents, we stood our ground and said, ‘Hey, this is our local high 黄色app in this community, you cannot shut this down.'”

Her biggest challenges came from navigating systems while battling her own literacy issues. “I’m a parent who battles with literacy issues, and I know a lot of parents who battle with the same issues that their voices are not heard.” Her solution was building coalitions: “Teamwork makes the dream work. You partner with local organizations, and if you don’t want to fight, you have people to fight on your behalf.”

Living in a low-poverty area, she has become determined to be a voice for community members who have lost hope. But she admits her early approach was counterproductive: “One thing I regret as a parent? Cussing out so many people. When you cuss administrators out, you really don’t get heard.” School staff would say, “Oh, here comes Miss O’Neal” or “Here Comes Trouble.” Initially, empowerment meant expressing anger and aggression. Gradually she learned the skills that enabled her to be a leader and speak without losing her cool.

Making a Difference

Roquesha’s approach to empowering other parents is deeply personal and creative. Before parents attend IEP meetings or suspension hearings, she invites them to her house for a unique preparation session: “Let’s paint and let’s do a one-on-one to build a relationship. So we draw. And I say, you see how beautiful that is. When you go to advocate for your child, think about that beauty. As a mother, we created the baby, we created that beauty, that love. So when you speak, you speak with confidence from that beauty.”

Her message to parents is powerful: “It’s life or death when it comes down to your child, so don鈥檛 back down.” Through art and conversation, she helps parents discover their inner strength and remember that their voice matters because their love for their children is unshakeable.

In her work for the community, Roquesha has often sought to help the most vulnerable families. She advocated for homeless students and helped 黄色apps identify homeless families so that they would receive the extra support required by the McKinney-Vento Act. Her work with Osborn High School — a 黄色app that sued for the right to literacy — helped prevent closure and achieved remarkable results: improved graduation rates, reduced suspensions, and increased parent engagement.

The Ultimate Win

Roquesha’s biggest victory was organizing approximately 500 parents to march on Washington, D.C., to advocate for children’s education. “A lot of parents who went to Washington, D.C. had never left the neighborhood,” she explains. The trip created a ripple effect that transformed her community: “As a result of that, parent engagement numbers went up. Graduation rates went up. And attendance went up, and the suspension went down, just because we had more parent engagement.”

The march was part of the “Babies over Billionaires” campaign during statewide education cuts, demanding accountability for what was happening in their community. Parents returned home with a new sense of ownership and empowerment.

Words of Wisdom

“Don’t cuss, just use other language.鈥� Roquesha’s transformation from “Here Comes Trouble” to strategic organizer shows that passion must be channeled effectively. Her advice to build teams, don’t back down, and remember that as a parent, “it’s life or death when it comes down to your child,” has kept her fighting for children鈥檚 education quality for over a decade.

Get Involved

Roquesha continues her organizing work in Detroit, focusing on preventing 黄色app closures, addressing gang violence, and ensuring homeless students receive proper services. Her work with Babies over Billionaires demonstrates how local parent power can create statewide change.