DENVER — Janaiya Hopper‘s eyes scanned through a crowd of anxious parents, searching for her mother. Then, from across a crowded intersection outside Denver’s East High School, they locked eyes.
The 18-year-old senior’s face crumpled as she ran into her mother Jamela Brown‘s open arms.
Hopper sobbed into her mother’s shoulder as a single tear trickled down Brown’s cheek. When the two finished their hug, the teen looked at her mom, and said, “I don’t want to go back to school.”
