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Featured Article

Bending the Arc

Article by Bree O'Brien

Photography by Courtesy of Amirah Haque

Originally published in Bellevue Lifestyle

College freshman Amirah Haque is committed to being an active member of her community. A Bellevue native who attended Bellevue High School, she played soccer (her team won state her senior year) and softball there, tried cheer her senior year, enjoyed Hiking Club (“A fun time with friends to go on hikes and clean up trash”) and “Bending the Arc, my favorite club ever!” Of course that club’s name is a nod to MLK’s famous quote, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” The club worked with the Common Power organization to help BHS students pre-register to vote and demonstrated against school violence, among other things. In 2023 Haque was honored by Bellevue Youth Link with a Community Award for Advocacy for Inclusivity & Allyship.

She spent time volunteering at Food Lifeline, the City of Bellevue Communities of Color coordinating committee, and attended City Hall meetings in support of the CARES Unit. She’s now at Pitzer where she continues to play soccer and agitate for positive changes toward equity and equality. 

Haque developed an interest in social justice in middle school, and credits her mom and aunt as role models in that arena. She mentions that social justice work can be a job or a passion, and she’s interested in pursuing law that affects government policy. No matter which field she ends up in, Haque will be an activist working to make the world a better place.

She mentions that social justice work can be a job or a passion, and she’s interested in pursuing law that affects government policy.