"I needed to act": 11-year-old takes stand against child abuse

Here's something 11-year-old Elijah Lee never wants to hear: You're just a kid.

"The kids are here and we're not going to stand down," says the fifth grader at KIPP Gaston College Preparatory. "We're going to have our voices be heard."
After he learned that one of his peers had been the victim of abuse, Elijah felt compelled to do something.

"I needed to act," he said.

So last March, he organized the first Child Abuse Awareness March in Roanoke Rapids, drawing about 250 people. He hopes to double that number at this year's march, scheduled for March 2 at Centennial Park in Roanoke Rapids. Representative G.K. Butterfield is expected to attend the rally, which starts at 1 p.m. and will last about an hour.

"Every day in America, five children are killed due to child abuse, and that really affected me," he said.

His mother, Jessica Lee, said Elijah did the legwork himself, filling out the police permit for the march and paying $40 to rent space at the park.

"I think it tugs at his heart," she said about her son's dedication to combating child abuse. "Elijah is extremely empathetic and he doesn't like to see anyone get hurt."

At this year's march, Elijah will deliver a speech and someone will read a poem by Maya Angelou called "Alone." He knows about the poet's story of being sexually assaulted as a child and going mute for five years because of the trauma.

"That poem really means a lot to me, that she felt so alone because she believed that she could not go to someone," Elijah said. "I believe that is very important for kids to go to someone."

Elijah and his three siblings lost their father, Marvin Lee, eight years ago to a heart attack, forcing their mother to raise the children on her own. Jessica Lee remembers that Elijah was just four years old and still did his best to comfort her.

"He sat on my lap and said 'Mommy, don't cry. Daddy's in heaven, and that's the best place to be in the world," Jessica Lee said.

Elijah would go on to be ordained as a minister at Holy City Church in Emporia, Va., where he often delivers a message from the pulpit.

He urges children not to shy away from taking a stand when they see wrong in the world.

"I think that's important because kids are told to be quiet all the time, figuratively and literally, and I think it's time that kids start speaking up," he said.

Ask Elijah about his birthday -- it's December 5th -- and he's quick to list significant events on that day in history, such as the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and the death of South African president Nelson Mandela.

"Here are great people leaving a legacy, and I kind of want to do the same thing -- leave a legacy."

When it comes to building a legacy, he never wants it to be said that he's just a kid.