CHARLOTTE — It’s been two years since a moment during protests in Charlotte went viral, but now, the two men in the video are face to face again. This time, they’re celebrating a big achievement and a new opportunity.
That moment in 2020 caught the eye of a foundation that extended a hefty scholarship to Julius L. Chambers High School graduate Raymon Curry.
Both men told Channel 9′s Ken Lemon the moment changed their lives.
Curry was 16 years old when he slipped out of his home to join the June protests that followed George Floyd’s murder. He was surrounded by passionate adults who were angry with police.
Activist Curtis Hayes saw the teen getting swept up in the moment and grabbed him.
“When I (saw) Raymon, I (saw) me,” Hayes said. “You never know how you can touch a person’s life.”
Hayes challenged Curry to change the world for the better.
“So what I need y’all to do, right now at 16, is come up with a better way, because how we are doing it ain’t working,” Hayes told Curry that day in June 2020.
In that moment, something clicked for Curry. He had a new focus and started looking at himself differently.
“Honestly, I didn’t really think I had that much impact, but having Curtis out there talking to me, actually talking to me, telling me as a young man, ‘You can do it. There’s nothing you can’t do,’” Curry said.
Someone videoed that moment and it went viral, catching the attention of the Noble Light Foundation in California, whose leaders also believed Curry was ready to help change the world.
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The organization gave him a $10,000 scholarship to any college of his choice.
Curry gave Hayes a ticket to attend his graduation from Julius Chambers. After graduation, Hayes gave Curry a necklace engraved with the words, “The world is yours.”
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“We are always told that we can’t do or we won’t be,” Hayes said.
The necklace is a reminder of the challenges people face in life on the streets.
“Have the mentality of ‘keep going,’” Hayes said. “Don’t stop.”
Curry plans to go to college in the spring of 2023. He wants to become a dental hygienist but said he is also working on ways to become an inspiration for someone else.
(Watch below: Teen protester learns life lesson from fellow demonstrator)
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