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7/2/2024 ARISE honors Rep. Morales, educators and grassroots organizations
STATE HOUSE — The Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education honored Rep. David Morales with its Intersectionality Award at its annual visibility event June 27.

“It is an honor to receive this award from the incredible young leaders at ARISE who are constantly organizing to empower and engage young people across our state. Thank you,” said Representative Morales (D-Dist. 7, Providence). “As our community celebrates the achievements of the grassroots organizations and young leaders focused on supporting youth advocacy, I look forward to continuing our legislative efforts to increase funding for mental health services and staff, multilingual education and ethnic studies within our schools.”

ARISE is an educational and advocacy organization that combines leadership training with community organizing to mobilize Southeast Asian and other Rhode Island youth of color for education justice. At the event ARISE presented three categories of awards to recipients who embody its three foundational values of solidarity, justice and intersectionality.

“The ARISE visibility event is our annual celebration of the incredible achievements our community has done while building community on an evening filled with inspiring stories, powerful performances, and meaningful connections. Since this year’s theme was Propelling Change Through Community, we presented our core value awards to various community members who embody solidarity, justice and intersectionality,” said Niamiah Jefferson, lead organizer with ARISE. “We are proud to honor Representative Morales with the Intersectionality Award for his leadership, collaborative energy, and love for youth power through his commitment to youth agency, efficacy and brilliance.”

Representative Morales was honored alongside Rhode Island Kids Count, which also received an Intersectionality Award for its work combatting racism through legislation, research and policy. ARISE also presented Justice awards to Steam Box for its popular youth-led podcast which has aired over 100 shows and to Dr. Christina “V” Villarreal for her work and advocacy as an ethnic studies educator. Young Voices was recognized with the Solidarity Award for its array of youth programming related to college access, workforce development and policy advocacy. The first group of PPSD educators and district leaders that participated in the ARISE ethnic studies identity development series were also honored with the Solidarity Award for their commitment to implementing ethnic studies in Providence schools.


For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935