A lesson from Rashad Butler by Alexis

Alexis's entry into Varsity Tutor's October 2025 scholarship contest

  • Rank: 126
  • 0 Votes
Alexis
Vote for my essay with a tweet!
Embed

A lesson from Rashad Butler by Alexis - October 2025 Scholarship Essay

An important lesson I learned from a fictional character comes from Rashad Butler in All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Rashad's story is one of the craziest I've heard his story taught me about strength, patience and the power of speaking up for what is right. In the book Rashad is a black teenager who is in JROTC and is wrongly beaten by a police officer after being accused of stealing although he had done nothing wrong. After the attack he becomes the face of a protest movement even though he never asked to be in that position or role. At first Rashad feels scared and angry, but as the story continues he learns that staying silent won't change anything. His courage to tell his story helped others find their voices too.
What I learned from Rashad is that standing up for justice doesn't always mean fighting back with violence it means not giving up even when things feel unfair. He shows that speaking the truth even when people might not listen can start change. Rashad also taught me that sometimes doing the right thing takes time and healing is part of the process. His story opened my eyes to how racism still affects people today and how important it is to notice it instead of pretending it doesn't exist. Because of Rashad I have learned to be more aware, more understanding, and more willing to stand up when I see something wrong.

Votes