Unsung Hero: Ta’Shiyah Porter nominated for overcoming adversity to create change

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The celebration continues as 19 News and the Cleveland Public Library honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We are highlighting local Unsung Heroes who live their lives honoring the teachings of the Civil Rights leader.

UNSUNG HERO: Ta’Shiyah Porter

Eighteen-year-old Ta’Shiyah Porter of Cleveland is a senior at the John Hay School of Science and Medicine and a sophomore in college.

She also finds time to work at the Martin Luther King Branch of the Cleveland Public Library.

“Sometimes you kind of have to realize who you are, and how much power you have in creating your story.”

Porter has big dreams and hopes other young people will follow her lead, putting education first.

“I want to become a fashion designer. I want to become very well-known and I also want to shoot a couple of short films and author a book,” Porter told 19 News.

Porter said we can all write our own success story, and putting in the work now is the key to a successful and productive future.

“Sometimes you kind of have to realize who you are, and how much power you have in creating your story,” she said.

The Cleveland teen knows what it means to overcome adversity and create change, especially after suffering the loss of three family members at one time.

“Going into my freshman year, my sister and niece and nephew were murdered,” Porter said.

The crime dating back to July 10, 2019 shocked the community. Four people were killed on East 63rd Street in Slavic Village.

Among them were Porter’s young niece and nephew, Aubree and Armond, as well as her sister Takeyra Collins.

“Because they will never experience that on their own, I kind of have to live in memory of them.”

A neighbor who went to check on the young mother was also shot and killed.

For Porter, the loss was devastating. “She was kind of like a second mother to me growing up, and it was just kind of harder to lose her and I started to realize how much of a significance she had in my life,” she said.

It was a period of unimaginable grief, turmoil and depression for the teen.

But, the honor student eventually found her way out of the darkness, determined to live life in honor of loved ones who will forever have her heart.

“Because they will never experience that on their own, I kind of have to live in memory of them,” Porter remarked.

Porter was recently honored with a $10,000 Marion Motley Scholarship that will keep her focused on her goals, including a college degree and a career as a fashion designer, a life she hopes to create by design.

“This world is going to give you every step of pain, pleasure, of heartbreak,” she said. “It’s going to give you a lot and it won’t stop. But, it also means you kind of have to settle yourself with it, and keep moving, and keep growing and developing and just powering through.”

Ta’Shiyah Porter, at just 18, a true Unsung Hero, who just like Doctor King is determined to reach the promised land, while inspiring others to have a dream and work tirelessly to navigate their own course in life.

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