Complaints about Clark County school environments led to emotional testimonies from parents and former educators who voiced concerns about pupil treatment, a lack of protection from youth violence — particularly in “Black and brown communities” — and too much or too little discipline.

The event is the second community listening session of the Nevada Democracy Project — an initiative focused on civic engagement and community conversations, produced by The Nevada Independent in partnership with Vegas PBS — that is focused on youth issues and election questions. 

The percentage of children whose parents lack job security worsened significantly in the most recent report — rising from 26 percent of the juvenile population in 2019 to 33 percent in 2021 — a total that includes 233,000 youths. Fourth graders not proficient in reading, and child and teen deaths per 100,000, also worsened in Nevada between 2019 and 2022.

Black student leaders toured the Clark County Government Center after learning about different aspects of leadership, budgets, event planning, fundraising and recruitment during the retreat.  Students also learned about being caring leaders, delegating tasks and how to grow their organization’s membership.

Youth attendees spoke about feeling led astray by rap music and television, neglected or abandoned by leaders and over-policed in schools or neighborhoods — calling for simple solutions such as mentorship or “open gym,” which means free access to gyms inside community centers to play a wide variety of games or sports.

“We have also seen an increase in the homelessness and inadequate housing and parental alcohol and drug abuse [category],” said Jill Marano, director of Clark County Department of Family Services. “And those still fit in that neglect category where there's some sort of condition going on with a parent so they're unable to meet the needs of their children.”

Since October 2022, students at Harvard have been highly engaged in the Supreme Court case brought forward by Students for Fair Admissions, which declares that affirmative action is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Chaplain Clementina Chery said her son Louis D. Brown was driven everywhere he needed to go because of violence in their neighborhood. The first day he walked alone, he was shot and killed.