If you’ve attended a community event recently, there is a good chance the Spokane NAACP Youth Council was present. Over the last few years, thanks to a lot of hard work and dedication of Priya Mhlophe and a group of dedicated students, the Spokane NAACP Youth Council became the first in Spokane to be officially recognized by the National NAACP.
I had the opportunity to talk with the Youth Council President, Kylia, who spoke to the collaborative and inspiring environment the Youth Council fosters. She attributed a lot of that to the Youth Council Advisor, Priya. Who has taught the students the importance of the three Cs: Civil Discourse, Civic Engagement, and Community Building. These are at the center of all of the work the Youth Council does.
Pryia, the Youth Council Advisor, was given the 2025 NAACP President’s award for their organizing work and leadership with the Youth Council.
One of the goals for the Youth Council right now is to continue growing. Kylia says they are open to everyone, “It doesn’t matter how you identify; we have people from all different cultural identities and experiences. All that matters is the work we are doing, and we want everyone to feel included and feel that they belong with us because they do.”
The Council is all about getting students under the age of 25 involved in advocacy in the community and understanding what it means to be a good neighbor and civically engaged. About half of the students are currently in college and the other half are high school students. Kylia summed it up by saying, “It doesn’t matter where you come from or what you look like. All that matters is that you care.”
For Kylia, one of the highlights of being involved in this group is that everything is truly student driven. The advocacy they engage in and the work they do in the community all comes from the students on the council. It doesn’t matter if it’s advocating for tenants’ rights at our state capitol or standing up for the importance of cultural events at a city council meeting; all the work is student driven.
Those of us who live in the education world know how important this form of student-driven advocacy is. The most powerful voice in education should always be the student’s voice, and as a community, we should celebrate the exciting milestones the Spokane NAACP Youth Council has achieved and support them as they grow.
At the end of our conversation I asked Kylia if there was anything else she wanted to share about the Youth Council, she said, “that we are a group of young people that do care and that you will definitely be seeing more of us and we are going to make our impact on Spokane. Anyone who is young come join us so we can make the change we want to see.”
To stay up to date with everything the youth council is doing follow them on their Instagram page @spokanenaacp_yc and if you are under the age of 25 and want to get involved with the Spokane NAACP Youth Council they meet on the second Sunday of every month and you should email Kylia at kylia.harris@yahoo.com for more information about how to get involved.