SALUTE TO GRADUATES TRIBUTES 2023: Raytown (Missouri) South High School senior Jodi Na’Riyah Davis-Green set to graduate with honors, likely to enroll at an HBCU amid her father’s tragic death two years ago
Andre Johnson 
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 NJKV)
MILESTONE WORTH CHEERING FOR
Anyone has a recreational vehicle for sale?
If so, Annisa Davis would emerge as a likely buyer, given her forthright response when asked how much she will miss her daughter, graduating high school senior Jodi Na’Riyah Davis-Green when she vacates the Kansas City, Missouri area and heads off to college in the coming months.
“I’m currently looking for an RV,” Davis said during Making Headline News’ Annual Salute To Graduate Tributes for 2023. “I believe I will be camped out in someone’s vacant parking lot. I’ll be on call.”
Whether Davis was joking with regards to her daughter’s forthcoming departure from nearby Raytown to her selected college campus this fall is anyone’s guess.
ONE MOMENT IN TIME
Regardless, nothing, she said, could overshadow the fervent elation of having witnessed her daughter reach literally every milestone she aspired to accomplish as she looks ahead to acquiring her much-anticipated diploma in the coming days.
Having taken on the last names of both of parents, Davis-Green will join her fellow seniors for Raytown South High School’s commencement exercises May 21 at 10 a.m. CST at Silverstein Arena.
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For Davis-Green, graduation day figures to give way to wave of emotions for the beloved honor student, who possesses a cumulative grade point average of 3.9.
Davis-Green’s father, Andre “Dre” Green, in 2021 was murdered, a life-altering development this youngster still finds difficult to stomach.
Still, in the wake of father’s untimely death, Davis-Green has managed to seek and consult God for a divine sense of direction, all the while relying on a solid support system that is spearheaded by her mother.
“She has managed to overcome every obstacle that has ever stood in her way,” said Davis, assessing her daughter’s sometime stormy journey amid her father’s passing. “From being a victim of childhood bulling and being told she wasn’t pretty or skinny enough to fit in, to losing her father to murder, through that pain, she continued to be a voice for others with similar insecurities while holding her own head high to maintain her positions as a positive representative for her school and peers.”
Interestingly enough, Davis said her daughter has become an advocate for social injustice, a trend she said has enabled her to be a part of a variety of community-wide protests, rallies, and empowerment seminars in recent years.
Davis-Green also was featured as a rising community activist in an October 2021 article entitled, Taking A Stand.
After graduation, it’s off to college this fall at a school Davis-Green had yet to officially determine by the time this story was released.
According to her mother, Davis-Green, in all likelihood, will enroll at a Historically Black College or University, or HBCU.
BEAUTY FOR ASHES
While Alabama State appears to be her “first choice,” according to her mother, Davis-Green is also considering Alabama A&M, Tennessee State, Texas A&M, Jacksonville State, and the University of Missouri University, among others.
One of the most decorated students in Raytown’s senior class, Davis-Green was involved in a variety of activities, most notably captain of the varsity cheerleading squad, a member of the track and team, publicist for the Black Student Union, a broadcast anchor, member of the student council, event coordinator, a member of media marketing, as well as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and CPR certified interim.
“Jodi’s transformation has been so inspiring for the world to see,” Davis said. “Because it just doesn’t stop. Her kind, energetic, genuine, and caring heart are what makes her most special. She sees good in everyone, and she cheers anyone on to be great. She offers great advice, even to me as her mother, and I have learned so much from Jodi. She is my very first daughter. There was a divine joy I experienced when I learned I was having her, and it truly changed my life.”
All of which practically sums up why graduation day figures to bring about tears of joy for Davis-Green’s mother and grandmother.
“It will be a true blessing to have her grandmother waiting for her in the stands,” Davis said. “Jodi has a list of family members that have been an inspiration to her. They love her and are waiting patiently to scream her name as she walks across stage.”
Amongst those who will be waiting with great anticipation: Andre “Dre” Green.
ANNISA DAVIS’ OPEN LETTER TO HER GRADUATE
Jo-Jo, I want you to always stand for what’s good. No matter, what the world is doing, you stay on the path The Almighty (God) as laid for you. You be careful of the takers in this life. They will always leave you drained and feeling defeated. So you surround yourself with those of your kind. You are noble and you’ll continue to seek wisdom. (You are) kind, genuine, honest, giving, achieving, and elevating.
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Andre Johnson is the award-winning Founder and Publisher for Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former staff reporter of sports for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send email to [email protected] or to [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist or Instagram at @makingheadlinenews.
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