Rising Voices: Youth Leadership and the Fight for Fair Representation – ep.179

Joining me are Melissa Leon Perez and Dylan Tran, two remarkable students from Stockton Early College Academy and interns with the NAACP Stockton Branch in partnership with San Joaquin Delta College. These young leaders share their personal journeys, family influences, and their growing passion for social justice and civic engagement.

Together, we dive into Proposition 50, exploring how congressional redistricting impacts communities of color, voting rights, and representation across California and beyond. Their thoughtful reflections remind us that advocacy starts early—and that informed, engaged youth are vital to shaping a more equitable future.

Tune in for an inspiring conversation about leadership, identity, and the importance of making every voice count.

Melyssa Barrett: Welcome back to the Jali Podcast, the vibrant space where we highlight the stories that inspire, uplift, and remind us of the incredible power of every voice. I’m your host, Melyssa Barrett, and I’m truly delighted to be with you today, not just as a storyteller, but also as the third vice president of the N-A-A-C-P Stockton branch. One of the most rewarding aspects of our work at the N-A-A-C-P is nurturing the leaders of tomorrow who are so passionate about justice and equity. So I want to thank our fantastic partnership with San Joaquin Delta College and Professor Evan Wade, our dedicated political action chair. We have an outstanding team of student interns who are representing the bright future of advocacy. Today I’m thrilled to introduce you to two of these talented young individuals, Melyssa Leon Bees and Dylan tr, who are both students at Stockton Early College Academy and have been doing incredible work with the N-A-A-C-P Stockton Branch and San Joaquin Delta College.

This semester, Melyssa brings her remarkable thoughtfulness and determination to every task rooted in strong family values. It’s evident that she believes that understanding and respecting diverse cultures and races is vital for achieving social justice. Her maturity and commitment to making a difference are genuinely inspiring. Dylan offers a unique perspective shaped by his experiences in Stockton with heartfelt insights on compassion, equality, and perseverance. He beautifully shares the influence of those who have guided him, including his sister, who continues to inspire him in his pursuit to serve his community. I love that they’re already engaged, and I truly appreciate when young people use their voices to provide their own perspective. These two exceptional students embody the potential that arises when young people are allowed to learn, lead and uplift others. So I can’t wait for you to hear their reflections on why they’re interested in social justice and their thoughts on Proposition 50. I’m really interested, I know you are doing some work from an internship perspective. You both are high school students that are working also at the college level, and you’re involved in learning about social justice and actually advocating for it, which is phenomenal. So I’m excited to have you guys here, and thank you so much for joining me on the Jali Podcast.

Melissa Leon Perez: Thank you for having us. It is really an honor to be here.

Melyssa Barrett: Yeah, I’m excited. So first let me just ask, and maybe I’ll start with Melyssa and maybe you can talk a little bit about who you are and how you became the person you are today. What grade are you in, all of that, and then Dylan can follow up from there.

Melissa Leon Perez: I’m Melyssa and I’m a sophomore at cca, which stands for Stockton Early College Academy. And here we do high school classes and AP classes, but then we are also, Secka collapsed with Delta College and we do college level classes. So by the end of senior year, those that complete the program, we will be able to get our AA degree before your high school degree. And a little bit about me is that the first I became today is from eighth, seventh, and eighth grade. So middle school and people would always judge me for being nerdy, and they would always be like, oh, why aren’t you like the other girls that care about their looks and their makeup and all that? And that really made me self, my self-confidence went down. But thanks to my mother, she gave me back my self-confidence. And by the end of eighth grade, I graduated top of my class and became student speaker, and now I’m attending the best high school in Stockton, California.

Melyssa Barrett: Awesome. Awesome. Dylan, how about you?

Dylan Tran: So I’m Dylan Tran. I’m a junior here at Seka with Melyssa, and as she said before, AP classes and also working with classes in San Joaquin Delta College. So a person who really helped me shape who I’ve become was my sister because my parents were usually busy working and sometimes I didn’t have people to talk to at home. I would text my friends every now and then, but not all the time really. Then my sister, she taught me things that really I still use today. She taught me how to cook eggs.

Melyssa Barrett: It was

Dylan Tran: Pretty important. And also she helped me get into Seka because I didn’t know what I was doing during the admission process, but she helped me create a path to what I was doing, and she also helped me during very tough times in my life when I was sad. She was always there to cheer me up and I’m proud of her. She goes to uc, Irvine now. Fantastic. And her kindness, her,

Melyssa Barrett: What’s her name?

Dylan Tran: Her name is Haley. She’s two years older than me, so she’s 18.

Melyssa Barrett: All right. Shout out to Haley and uc, Irvine. So tell me a little bit about, I know you’re working with Professor Evan Wade who teaches social justice and a whole lot of other things, and I know he’s also the political action chair for the N-A-A-C-P. So tell me a little bit about why you all are involved with social justice and how did that come to be?

Melissa Leon Perez: Okay. So I am more committed to the cause of social justice because I feel like it is necessary for everyone around the world to be able to communicate with other races and cultures. That is not a problem here at CCA because seccas very diverse and we have everyone from all around cultures and different races and all that. But outside of cca, we see problems, we see racism, and I just feel like if people were able to communicate more, all this would be able to calm down more.

Melyssa Barrett: All right, Dylan?

Dylan Tran: Yeah, so I’m committed to social justice because I just want to see equality within all people in social classes in a way, because outside of the us, other underdeveloped countries, they can face oppression from the higher classes. I believe that we shouldn’t have that here, so we should help out as much people as we can in order to prevent that sort of oppression from coming into the United States or even becoming worse. And once we can stop that here in the us, then maybe we can help the other countries who are in need and are being oppressed, I would say.

Melyssa Barrett: Okay, awesome. So then I know you all have spent a lot of time talking or really learning about what the N-A-A-C-P does, the Stockton branch and specific based on the work that is being done in our area, proposition 50 is one of those things that is now on the ballot coming up in November 4th. And I think there’s a lot of confusion perhaps about do you vote yes, do you vote no? What does it mean and what does it mean for underrepresented communities as well? So do you all want to talk a little bit about some of the work that you’ve done in just understanding Prop 50 and what does yes and no mean?

Melissa Leon Perez: So first we want to say why voting’s important because well, voting’s important in general for everything. So voting is more important because this is one way that people around the country and the community can put in their input for the government. And this would also help protect the voting rights of people, mainly due to the 15th and the 19th Amendment. And voting just gives power around the world, and it can help so much more for people besides protecting their voting rights.

Dylan Tran: For me, voting is important because it gets what you think, what you believe in out there for the country, and it helps represent you and the people who are like you. And for this law, it’s especially important to vote because it’ll change the way you vote for the next four years, and we’ll get into that once we explain what Prop 50 is later.

Melyssa Barrett: And certainly, and thank you for saying how important it is to vote, I think a lot of times people have misconceptions about what their vote means and whether they should vote. And so I know we’ve been certainly trying to make sure that even if you’re 16 or 17, that you can register to vote early so that your voting status is active when you turn 18. So folks in your high schools have the ability to pre-register to vote so that they’re active and ready to go when their time comes, when they turn 18. So then talk a little bit about Prop 50, like what is it

Dylan Tran: For this? We’ll have to go back Texas. You may have heard in the news that they’ve drawn congressional masks, but however, they were never seen to this as a way to rig elections in order to support Trump, people would say. So what California did is that they proposed this proposition called Prop 50, and what it does is that California, they create their own congressional maps instead of relying on a certain group of people to do it.

Melyssa Barrett: Okay. And how does that relate to Proposition 50? This

Melissa Leon Perez: Would relate a bit more to Prop 50 because as Dylan said, people would think that this is rigging, more specifically the mid elections, the halfway elections, presidential elections, and California basically, since there’s a lot going on in California with Trump attacking California as people would say, and this is a way for California to fight back the maps that Texas drew.

Melyssa Barrett: Yeah, and I think it’s important for people to understand that the maps in Texas are pretty specific around communities that are with underrepresented populations, specifically black and brown populations. And so they’re looking to increase the number of Republican delegates in Texas and California is really kind of trying to balance that by saying We will let the people decide, but essentially if we want more democratic votes over here, then the people have the ability to decide that as opposed to allowing for the committee to redraw those census lines. We have a commission that actually does that in California, but they typically do it at the time they do the census. And because it’s the middle of that timeframe where in 2025, and we’re not at either end of the decade, there is questions about who should be doing this redistricting. And so tell me what a yes vote or a no vote would actually mean if somebody is voting for or against Prop 50.

Melissa Leon Perez: So basically, if a US citizen would decide to vote a yes on Prop 50, the outcome of this would be that California would get support to use the new congressional district maps that Gavin New Drew at the beginning of 2026. And these new maps, it would be used until California citizens draw new maps, which would be after the 2030 US census.

Dylan Tran: Census is basically a count of how many people are in the country, so like a survey, and they also mark the citizen’s, ethnicity, occupation, jobs, and more other things.

Melissa Leon Perez: That is what a yes vote would mean if a US citizen decided to vote no on Prop 50. The result would be that the new maps that were drawn by California and Gavin Newsom, they would not be used, and instead it would support the current district boundaries, and they would have to wait until the 2030 US census for the new maps to be drawn. But then this would also mean that politicians would get more power back and would be able to rig the presidential midterms. And yeah, this would basically mean that the current congressional maps would be kept on being used until the US census in 2030, which is still five years away.

Melyssa Barrett: Okay, so neither one of you can actually vote in this election? Correct. Okay. So what are your thoughts when you think about talking to your parents or other folks about this vote?

Dylan Tran: If Texas is trying to rig it, then I might as well R it to cancel out since they’re doing in favor of Trump, and then we’re doing it in opposition of Trump, so it might cancel out and there might be no benefit or loss for Trump. If we actually do decide to put this out

Melissa Leon Perez: Due to the First Amendment, it gives five different freedoms, and I just feel like this people would vote no on this. That would just cancel out most of the freedoms that are given from the First Amendments.

Melyssa Barrett: Okay. So are you guys looking forward to voting in the president? Well, no. Dylan will be able to vote in the presidential election right next year. Are you going to be 18

Melissa Leon Perez: In 2028? We both will be able to vote guys. Yeah.

Melyssa Barrett: Okay. So you guys are excited about that.

Melissa Leon Perez: Yeah, I would be representing the oldest in my family, so I would be able to also get the input from my siblings and my parents. I believe my siblings would be old enough to know the basics of the election and all that.

Melyssa Barrett: Awesome. Well, and I want you to talk to me a little bit. I know when you guys were talking about telling me about who you are, you talked a lot about your family and why your mom doesn’t want you to be like your cousins. So tell me a little bit about how that’s influenced you and kind where you want to go in life.

Melissa Leon Perez: My cousins, they aren’t bad people, so I don’t want anyone to get the idea of that. They just like to party a lot, but basically my mom doesn’t want me to be like them. She thinks that it would affect my school life, and I really agree with her because I feel like school should become first, and then after that you’ve got time for your own things. That’s one major thing I’ve really learned attending seca, because it’s not easy, but we just have to push through. And that really affects my life because as I said, it’s not easy attending Secka, but putting all the parting aside and putting school first, it actually helps me a lot to concentrate better and just do better in general, which if it’s either my college classes or my AP classes or just my regular classes in general.

Melyssa Barrett: So what do you want to do after you get out of high school?

Melissa Leon Perez: I would like to attend a uc, maybe uc, Davis, and hopefully get my degree in education because I really want to be a teacher. I really want to make a difference in kids’ lives as there are multiple teachers throughout my school life that have really also helped me along the way, and I just really want to also be able to do that.

Melyssa Barrett: Awesome. All right,

Melissa Leon Perez: Good. How about you,

Melyssa Barrett: Dylan?

Dylan Tran: Family is important to me because, well, I’m always with them and they can just help me on stuff I need because I remember something that my father said, some people will leave you, but family will never leave you. And that’s true because family, they create who you are essentially, as you get some traits for your parents, you learn some things from your parents and your siblings and sometimes what you can get from them, they just don’t leave you.

Melyssa Barrett: Yeah, they’re always with you no matter what. So what do you want to do after high school?

Dylan Tran: Like Melyssa? I like to go to a uc, preferably Davis or Berkeley, maybe Irvine, or it could be too far away with

Melissa Leon Perez: Your sister.

Dylan Tran: Yeah, maybe. And I want to major in chemistry and get a master’s degree,

Melyssa Barrett: But

Dylan Tran: After that, a job, the job I want to get, I’m not really sure, but preferably something in the field of chemistry. That’s what I’m thinking.

Melyssa Barrett: Fantastic. I love it. I love it. A teacher and a chemist. This is how we make impact and change along the way. So I think no matter what you do in life, when you take who you are with you and you get involved and be engaged so that you know what you’re voting for and you know how to make an impact in your community. So I just want to thank you guys for participating in this podcast, but also really just opening yourselves up to talk about these challenges that we face, whether it be, I mean, you all don’t even get to vote, but yet you have opinions on what Prop 50 looks like, how it can impact the communities and your active and out there engaged. So I just appreciate you guys because there’s a lot of people in the world that won’t take the time to even understand what’s going on. So I just want to thank you guys for coming on, and any last words you want to talk about?

Dylan Tran: Thank you for Thank you. We really grateful for this

Melissa Leon Perez: Our first podcast. This is our first podcast. Thank you for the encouragement and the reassurance we got before all this because we were really nervous to come in here. But yeah, we just really want to thank you for having us.

Melyssa Barrett: Oh, it is my pleasure. My pleasure. So I wish you guys the best. I hope you continue to stay involved no matter where you are and where you go, and I’m sure that your families are excited for you. So take that with you wherever you go. Do great work at seka, and I’m excited for you guys. So it’s these kind of conversations that are so inspiring for me because I’m a little bit older than you. I just love seeing how engaged young people are in what’s going on in the community. So just keep up that work and never be afraid to speak your truth and let people know where you stand on things. So just excited for you. So congratulations. Thank you. What is actually happening when we think about why Proposition 50 is even on the ballot in California, let’s just talk about a little bit about what’s happening.

The Texas Republicans are pushing a mid decade redraw of congressional districts outside the usual every 10 year cycle. The US Department of Justice then wrote a letter warning that four Texas districts appear to violate the Voting Rights Act by combining black and Hispanic voters in coalition districts in ways that may dilute their power. Critics say that the new map packs and cracks communities of color, which means they’re splitting them into different districts or grouping them to reduce their electoral influence. Yes, lawsuits have been filed alleging that the map dismantles majority minority districts and is intentionally discriminatory. So when we think about how it affects black, Latino and other communities of color, Latino and black Texans make up a large proportion of the state’s growth, but the new maps allegedly don’t create enough districts where those voters can choose a representative of their preference. In Houston, for example, a Latino majority district would lose its majority under the new plan in one case, because representation matters for issues like housing, education, policing, and healthcare.

If your community’s voice is diluted, you may get less attention, fewer resources, representatives, less aligned with your community’s needs, et cetera. In practical terms, if you live in a Latino or a black neighborhood, that is then split among districts. You may find your neighbor and yourself in different congressional districts making coordinated community action harder and your vote less likely to help elect a candidate who will prioritize your community’s concerns. So that’s what’s happening in Texas. What’s happening in California and how it affects communities of color is that Proposition 50 would allow the California legislature instead of the usual independent commission to adopt temporary congressional district maps for 20 26, 20 28, and 2030 elections. Typically, our independent commission called the California Citizens Redistricting Commission would be redrawing those congressional district maps, but they normally do it at the same time of the census information. So Democratic aligned consultants for those 20 26, 20 28, and 2030 maps are proposed under Prop 50, and yes, it’s clearly partisan in nature designed to help Democrats rather than neutral.

Research by the Public Policy Institute of California shows that under Prop 50, the number of majority Latino districts remains the same as under the current map. So potentially on that metric, communities of color in that Latino districts aren’t necessarily gaining new district power, but they’re also not losing district power. How it affects some of the other communities, because the independent commission currently must consider racial and ethnic communities of interest, and the Voting Rights Act in drawing lines, switching to a legislature drawn map could reduce transparency or lessen those protections. However, for black communities, which historically are smaller in number versus Latino communities and more geographically dispersed in California, even minor boundary tweaks can matter a lot. Splitting a neighborhood can change whether a candidate who cares about my local issues can get elected. If districts get drawn with more partisan intent, there is a risk that communities of interest, whether it be religious, cultural language groups get ignored, making it harder for groups with district needs, recently immigrated indigenous communities, Asian communities to have their voice heard.

Representation matters. So I just want to encourage everyone. Representation matters who draws the lines and how can directly affect whether your vote counts toward electing someone who will prioritize your community’s issues. In Texas, the changes are a warning sign for communities of color. Maps are being redrawn, mid cycle outside, regular census, and seem aimed at reducing the influence of Latino black voters. That means being extra vigilant. Know your district, know who’s running and engage. In California, the change is more subtle, but still significant. The rules of drawing maps are shifting. So even if the immediate effect is unclear, the process is changing, and that matters for long-term representation. For communities of color, stay informed. Get involved in the map, drawing public comment process if possible, and know your local geography, which district do you belong to so you can hold your representative accountable. I want to thank Melyssa and Dylan for joining me for a conversation on Proposition 50. I also encourage people to vote yes on Proposition 50 to adopt temporary Congressional District Maps for 20 26, 20 28, and 2030. If you’re interested in learning more about Proposition 50, I encourage you to reach out to the League of Women Voters or to other organizations in your district, your representative, to see what their positions are on Proposition 50 and ensure that you’re informed about how it may impact you and your community.

I am excited to have Dylan and Melyssa with me today.