Jayla Williams’ high school tenure is done and dusted. She has a past to be immensely proud of and can now look forward to a promising future in her collegiate and creative endeavors.
A 2024 graduate of the prominent magnet school, Lincoln Preparatory Academy of Kansas City, Jayla Williams has fought relentlessly for her right to be seen, heard, and educated. Bright-eyed, with golden highlights and a tenacious spirit, she recently traveled to Bowie, Maryland, to compete in the Miss HBCU Teen Pageant, bringing home the title of Miss Congeniality.
“Miss HBCU Teen Pageant is for young women who are aspiring to go to an HBCU.” Williams says. “It’s supposed to equip you with all the things you need when it comes to being in college” The 17 year-old spent the 2023-2024 school year dually enrolled at Lincoln Prep and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. With a life full of demands from school and extracurriculars, she was able to find beauty in being immersed in the spaces that people like her are often denied access to.
Jayla Williams participated in her high school’s forensics team, theater, and was a member of a dance troupe–all while holding down a part-time job at a local daycare center. “Forensics and debate–that’s my jam, that’s my space to really put on a suit, some heels, do my makeup, make sure my hair looks nice, all my jewelry.” Williams says, glowingly.
The Supreme Court’s overturning of affirmative action last summer has also sparked a nerve in Jayla. When asked about the move, she stated that she was appalled at the hypocrisy.
“America’s entire system is built on discrimination. Considering how America came to fruition, American ideology is all about discrimination and separation,” she says. “Even in our society; different classes, lower class, middle class, upper-middle class, then you have extreme upper-middle class.” Williams said.
Affirmative action was a law designed to eliminate unlawful discrimination among applicants, remedy the results of such prior discrimination, and prevent such discrimination in the future, as defined by Cornell School of Law. Ruled as “unconstitutional” in the summer of 2023, its reversal will disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and Latino students who were previously underrepresented in colleges, especially elite ones.
“Everyone does not have a fair advantage in life, no matter how hard you try to say they do. It’s like you’re just kicking out everyone else except for the upper-middle class.” Williams said. These very deliberate acts of reprisal on our success has inspired many Black students, including Jayla, to venture into politics. When asked why she would consider a career in government, she responded that she wanted to be able to create change.
“A lot of politicians say I want to be the voice for the people who don’t have a voice. I will say I do love politics, I just don’t like the hypocrites who are in it.” Jayla says.
With all of the strife that Black politicians, especially women-identified, face, she wants to be sure that she’ll be able to maintain the endurance that is needed to tolerate such a lifestyle. Humbly assessing her abilities, she says “Before I make a lifelong commitment to this being my career, I definitely want to take the time to understand exactly what I’m getting into and if I would be one of those people [or one of those hypocrites] or if I’ll actually be somebody who is going to stand on their word and do what they say they are going to do.” However, Williams can already see herself in some pretty high places, including inside The Executive Branch of The United States–as President, Vice President, or Chief of Staff.
Williams is also seconding a career in international relations. She fondly recalls anecdotes told by her grandfather of his missions in other countries while serving in the Navy. “My biggest aspiration is to visit every country at least once,” she says, between chuckles. “and experience different cultures and their way of life, be able to tell stories of the places I’ve experienced, the different cultures I’ve learned about.”
But Jayla’s creative eye is what’s most sacred to her, besides her faith. “I believe that God’s provision and protection is what’s gotten me so far with my gifts.” Those gifts include writing. Her devotion to poetry can be accredited to her coming in 5th place overall at the Missouri State Speech and Debate championship when she was only a sophomore at University Academy.
“I was also the first one to go to Nationals for Forensics at UA and that was also in poetry.” Jayla said. With the complexities that Black women face everyday, it can be difficult finding the words and a receptive space to express themselves through mere dialogue. “When I felt that I didn’t have a voice or wasn’t able to express myself, I wrote everything down,” Jayla says. “And the only way I could really understand my emotions [of what I was experiencing at that time] was making it rhyme, making it something I could easily memorize.”
Jayla’s resume includes an incredible inventory of feats; she is one of many Black girls paving the way for several others. She has a thirst to see other girls that look like her making similar strides. With her mother as her foremost cheerleader and an array of friends, teachers, current and former, and family the only trajectory is upward.
“We’re going up together and we’re going to accomplish big things together.”
Jayla made the decision to attend University of Missouri-Kansas City. She received a $50,000 scholarship, courtesy of a partnership between KC Scholars and UMKC.
