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Community holds grad party for teen who says banned her from ceremony
A community held a graduation party for A'Shari Hobbs, a high school track star who was banned from her final track meets, prom and graduation ceremony allegedly because of what her parent did.
A’Shari Hobbs, 17, wore a cap and gown Wednesday evening and beamed with pride as community members honored her as a standout academic athlete from St. Mary’s Academy in Inglewood. It was not an official graduation ceremony. Rather, it was a ceremony organized by community leaders after her own school banned her from participating in the graduation ceremony, grad night, postseason track competitions and prom.
Speaker after speaker praised the young woman, who is on her way to Chicago State University on a track scholarship in the fall. There were flowers, standing ovations and tears for the teenager, who took the Leimert Park stage, looking like the superstar she is. A’Shari’s many accolades include being a National Honor Society member and the Division 4 800-meter champion (2025) while a student at St. Mary’s Academy in Inglewood. But after a fight broke out between A’Shari and a few of her teammates last month on campus, the Catholic prep high school came down hard on Hobbs.
At issue was not only the on-campus fight after a highly competitive track competition but also the conduct of A’Shari’s mom in the aftermath.
Elvira McBride is A’Shari’s mom. By several accounts, McBride used threatening language directed at a parent and student upon hearing her daughter’s emotional cries of "Mommy, they jumped me."
But on this Wednesday, the past was the past. All eyes were on A’Shari’s bright future. Award-winning KJLH radio host Tammi Mac spoke passionately to the standing-room-only crowd. She read a statement from A’Shari’s track coach with fire and conviction: "There is a community that walks with you. Embark on your next journey. Run your race inspite of anything that happens in life! Run your race. Track taught you to never look back ... the ribbon is in front."