Zyahna Bryant

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Zyahna Bryant, also known as Zy Bryant [1], is an activist and community organizer in Charlottesville, VA.

Bryant in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2018

Activism

At age 12, Bryant organized her first demonstration, a rally for Justice for Trayvon Martin after forming a group on Facebook. [2]

“I started making signs and hanging them up around my grandmother’s front yard. They said things like 'Honk for Justice' and 'Justice for Trayvon.' Some neighbors stopped by and asked if I was planning a demonstration. I wasn’t. But that inspired me,” Bryant said to Vice News in 2018.

In high school she founded the Black Student Union at Charlottesville High School in the fall of 2015, after in the spring of 2015 having spoken on a panel at a Bernie Sanders Town Hall advocating for the funding of public education.

In early 2016, Bryant petitioned the Charlottesville City Council to remove the Robert E. Lee Statue and rename the park of the same name it was located in. The City Council voted to remove the statue in 2017.

Bryant has faced challenges in response to her work, having received death threats and faced doxing. [3]. She also faced criticism form right-wing publications alleging that she ruined a UVA student’s reputation after the student said that the Black Lives Matter protesters would "Make good speedbumps."[4]


Bryant served as the youngest member of the inaugural Virginia African American Advisory Board under former Governor Ralph Northam.[1]

In January of 2019, Bryant published a book of essays and poetry entitled Reclaimed[1]

Bryant was rumored to be running for Charlottesville City Council in 2023, but declared that she was not in fact running.[5] Bryant continues to do community work, especially with youth and teens, to equalize access to educational opportunities for students of color.

Education

Charlottesville High School, Class of 2019

University of Virginia, Class of 2023, BA, African American Studies

Awards and Recognition

2020 TASC Scholarship, University of Virginia Alumni Association

2020 The Root Young Futurist

2019 Teen Vogue 21 Under 21 Young People Changing the World

2018 Bassett Award for Leadership and Community Engagement, Yale University

2018 Princeton Prize in Race Relations, Princeton University

2018 Student Stowe Prize Winner, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

References

External Links