John F. Kennedy Middle School eighth-grader Sofia Mercado never imagined her letter to Civil Rights advocate Edith Lee-Payne would spark an in-person history lesson for the entire eighth-grade class.

Lee-Payne drove from Detroit to surprise Mercado on April 25, 2024, after she read the letter in which Mercado asked her about her role in the Civil Rights movement.

“I was so impressed with the letter because of her interest in the Civil Rights movement, which caused me to want to come and meet her personally,” Lee-Payne said.

The letter is part of a research project John F. Kennedy language arts teacher Jen Gruca assigns each year. Each student picks a research topic then they must write a persuasive letter to someone in that field to help the student better understand the topic.

“Sofia has been inspired by Lee-Payne’s story and perseverance, her leadership, and her vision to help others,” Gruca said.

Mercado chose the Civil Rights movement because “more people should know about the topic.”

“I think that it impacted our society a lot and really changed history,” she said.

Lee-Payne spoke to Mercado and the rest of the eighth-grade class at an assembly about her experiences in the movement.

When Lee-Payne’s was 12 years old, her mother, Dorothy, took her to the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr., gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Lee-Payne was photographed at the march holding a banner reading “March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom. I was there.”

She had no idea her photo was taken that day, Lee-Payne said.

In 2008, Lee-Payne saw the photo for the first time in a Black History Month calendar, she told the eighth graders. Lee Payne had donated the photo to the African American History Museum in Washington, DC.

Lee-Payne currently advocates for social justice issues such as education, housing, public safety, and civil rights.

She encouraged students to get involved in making changes in their local, state and world communities.

“If somebody wants to make a difference – don’t get in their way, don’t discourage them, encourage them,” Lee-Payne told the students.

“We need more of that because (the students) are our future.”