Wei Chen was just a senior in high school in Philadelphia when he not only stood up to bullies who harassed Asian American students, but he stood up to unresponsive school administrators.
The now 22-year old has been awarded the $50,000 Peace First Prize for organizing a boycott that lead to a new school policy on harassment, the dismissal of a principal and a victorious civil rights complaint, reports Philadelphia.
His advocacy did not come without a price.
“When I went to South Philadelphia High School, I got beat up,” he told the Inquirer. “After I started doing organizing, I got beat up again. Many of my friends got beat up.”
The prize which will be spread out over two years will allow Chen to continue his advocacy work with Asian Americans United in Philadelphia.
