‘Perfect Age To Be Speaking’: Meet 16-Year-Old Activist Minelle Sarfo-Adu

Minelle Sarfo-Adu poses for a portrait in May near her South Burlington condo. Minelle, who is 16, is raising awareness about racial disparities in wealth and housing. (Elodie Reed/VPR)

In the past year, student activists have been hard at work to make change in their communities. Among them: 16-year-old Minelle Sarfo-Adu.

On a Tuesday in late May, Minelle and I sat at a picnic table by the South Burlington condo she lives in with her mom. When Minelle was in 8th grade, she moved there from neighboring Burlington, Vt. She helped her parents, who are both immigrants from Ghana, navigate the homebuying process.

“My parents would rely on me,” she said, to “speak with the real estate agent to make sure that we’re not getting scammed or something, because I would be the best English-speaker in the house.”

While her parents were touring a property, Minelle would fill out applications. If her parents were filling out applications, she would be inspecting every inch of the house. That’s when she started to learn about real estate.

Read the rest of the story at VPR’s website.