During their last day at school, everyone at Staley High was taken aback when Alicia Keys invited all the students and faculty to her concert in St. Louis this summer.
After the superstar singer/songwriter was impressed by the school’s “Unity Walk” in April, Keys stated via video i“I’ve been so moved by a demonstration of love, unity, support to our brother Ralph Yarl and I wanted to just bring you great news and some good energy.”
Earlier this year 1,200+ students and staff took part in the walk back in April chanting words of love and holding up signs of support for a fellow student athlete and this act of unity inspired thousands throughout the United States.
According to Staley high school junior, Taylar Thomas “It just shows how close we are as a student body and how like if one Falcon is hurting, we’ll all get up and like go do something to support their need.’
Grateful to Alicia Keys and Jay-Z for giving back to the other kids, Ralph Yarl’s aunt Faith Spoonmoore said the support from his peers has really helped him heal:
“It is so awesome to see that, it really is, because when this thing initially blew up like a wildfire, there were so many people who came on initially.” “I feel like people forget because it’s not a hot story anymore. There are new things that have happened, so it’s good to see that she has not forgotten about Ralph.”
What the students at Staley believed was their final goodbye for the summer quickly became a “see you later” when on July 21 everyone will reunite in St. Louis to watch Alicia Keys perform.
“Thank you for the opportunity, we’re extremely grateful. I’m just so excited and once again our student body will be able to get together, just go have fun,” said Thomas.
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: Eva Rinaldi