Youth Leadership Support Network

Waiting to Experience the Tunnel

2005-11-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

Tunnel of Oppression, Day 1

2005-11-15T20:09:00.000-08:00

The day began with all staff of the “Tunnel of Oppression” running around finishing up last minute tasks and hoping for a successful festival. Douglas’ role was to interview students on their experience and Sheila’s role was to work with GMU’s Multicultural Research and Resource Center staff to welcome participants to the “Area of Hope”.

As students slowly walked into the room, we switched on John Lennon’s famous song, “Imagine”. While participants listened to the soothing music, positive messages appeared on a screen in front of them. They were then asked to get rid of feelings of hate or oppression by writing them down and throwing them away in our “Throw your Hate Away” trash can. If they had positive words to offer and/or their hope for the future, they were asked to write it on our “Wall of Hope”. Then they were asked to be seated for a short debriefing session with professional counselors.

As the day came to a close, almost all volunteers and staff had taken a tour of the tunnel. We shared our personal feelings around the different rooms. Since most of the organizers discuss and confront these issues of oppression frequently, it did not affect us much. On the contrary, it made us realize how much work there needs to be done.

Day 1 was slow, organizers and volunteers did not know what to expect. By the end of the day, we all let out a sigh of relief and prepared ourselves for another full day of discussing issues of oppression as we said our “see you tomorrow”s.

Save Our Schools Banner

2005-11-15T04:51:00.000-08:00

GMU Multicultural Center Final Prep. Mtg.

2005-11-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

"Tunnel of Oppression" Prep. @ GMU

2005-11-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

Our partnership with George Mason University comes into play once again. GMU will be hosting the “Tunnel of Oppression” Festival tomorrow and Wednesday for students and faculty members to confront and discuss critical issues around racism and diversity. Specifically, “The Tunnel of Oppression” is an interactive, walk-through museum experience that highlights contemporary oppression. Each room both educates and challenges students to think about how they are oppressed and their roles in each type of oppression.

The annual festival is organized by students and faculty and is hosted on campuses around the country. This year’s event will highlight issues around hurricane Katrina, LGBTQ issues, Palestinian struggle, body image, airport security, amongst others.

Our role in the festival is to support the final room of the tunnel being the “Area of Hope”. The “Area of Hope” is a safe space in which participants will discuss feelings that came up for them when they walked through the tunnel and share with us their hopes and strategies to decrease oppression around them.

Tarik Perkins

2005-11-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome Tarik Perkins!

2005-11-09T19:44:00.000-08:00

Recently, Tarik Perkins of Rising Roots International joined our team as a volunteer to conduct free computer trainings with our community. Rising Roots International is dedicated to creating connections between and supporting grassroots movements from communities around the world. With the goal of collaborative analysis for action, they use popular education to build with the experience of the community. In a world where technology can mean exclusion or empowerment, they strive to equalize access to resources that facilitate communication and collective action across and within regions and cultures.

Tarik is currently working on his M.A. in Economics through Georgetown University. On November 2nd, Tarik and Sheila did outreach in our new base of Trinidad/Ivy City promoting “Free Computer Trainings” as a part of Worldyouth Media. Today, two siblings attended the first class. They are full of energy and seemed very excited about the computer trainings and upcoming media trainings they will receive immediately thereafter.

Computer Trainings will happen through December. In January, we will evaluate the program

The trainings are held every Wednesday, 6pm – 8pm @ YLSN office, 1119 Montello Ave. NE (Back Alley Entrance). To attend “Free Computer Trainings”, Please call (202) 215-3817.

For more information on Rising Roots International, please visit www.risingroots.org.

Discussion on Hate Crimes GMU to Russia

2005-10-31T19:33:00.000-08:00

Russian Delegates @ George Mason University

2005-10-31T19:32:00.000-08:00

YLSN Hate Groups Briefing Local 2 International

2005-10-31T19:31:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, October 25, YLSN and George Mason University Multi-Cultural Research and Resource Center provided a briefing on hate crimes, organzing and conflict reduction/resolution programs for GMU campus programs and a visiting delegation of eight Russian judges, prosecutors, police officials and NGO reps who were in Washington on a US State Department professional visitor program on preventing, investigating and prosecuting hate crimes. YLSN, through it’s SHINE Program, follows hate crimes and organizing in the region and internationally. The situation is Russia is very dire and this was a great opportunity to speak to decision-makers on how to define and approach their work. The following is an article from GMU’s Broadside Newspaper followed by related resource links.

The Broadside 10/31/05
Russian Researchers Visit Fairfax Campus to Research Hate Crimes
By Amy Hamilton
Broadside News Editor

A number of Russian representatives visited George Mason University on Tuesday as part of their research on how countries other than their own deal with hate crimes.
Doug Calvin, the founding director of the Youth Leadership Support Network, attended the discussion, and said “this group of Russians…is dealing with a very serious problem of hate crimes and … are here to seek ideas and resources from programs in the States that have experience with effectively addressing [the formation of hate crimes], from prevention to prosecution.”

Mason was asked to host the event by the National Coalition Building Institute, located at the Multicultural Research and Resource Center, according to the Center’s assistant director, Barbara Davis. Associate Dean of University Life, Kathryn Trump, said that “this was a State Department event,” and Mason was likely chosen as host because of its proximity to D.C., as well as its reputation as a diverse university. A document released by the International Visitor Leadership Program says that, among other things, the visitors wish to “explore the role of federal/regional authorities in addressing the issue of tolerance and how authorities raise public awareness of the issue.”

The 2005 Annual Security Report (available through www.gmu.edu/police) released by University Police reported no hate crimes in 2004 and one in 2003. Davis shared some of Mason’s attempts at solving the problem of hate crime at the discussion and “how we go into classrooms to talk about stereotypes,” she said. According to their website, the MRRC offers a number of diversity workshops, including one on prejudice reduction and one on conflict resolution. For more information on the MRRC, visit their website at www.gmu.edu/student/mrrc or call the center at 703-993-4003.

Resources for futher investigation:
** This is a good piece about the neo-nazi riot in Ohio recently. It includes many links included for further reading. See David Neiwert's "Toledo: The other side"
http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2005/10/toledo-other-side.html

** Russian gang kills Peru student **
One foreign student is killed and two others injured in central Russia, amid an unprecedented wave of xenophobia.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4327634.stm

** For more info on similar stories throughout Europe, visit www.searchlightmagazine.com Steve Silver, the editor, did a workshop for GMU students ten years ago or so.

**In 2002 YLSN produced a report on hate organizing in the area, including select national and international events at the end of the report. We hope to produce updated one in the near future.
http://www.worldyouth.org/programs/shine_incidents.htm

Tariq Khan Speaks

2005-10-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

George Mason Students Support Tariq

2005-10-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

GMU Student Arrested for Speaking his Mind

2005-10-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

On September 29th, just five days after the anti-war march in DC, Tariq Khan, a student from George Mason University was brutalized, arrested, and taken to Fairfax Country Jail for passing out anti-military-recruitment flyers on his campus. Four days later on October 3rd, GMU held a rally in support of Tariq Khan to drop all charges made against him. YLSN staff and members attended the rally. It was a huge turn out. About 200 students, youth, and community members attended. Tariq spoke of his experience, the importance of informing young people of the reality about joining the military, and that youth and students should not be treated as “terrorists” when they are speaking their mind.

YLSN youth organizer, Sheila Mirza spoke of her experience with police and airport security always stopping her for “random checking”. She performed her well known poem, “Terrorist”. Meanwhile, campus security stood on a rooftop across from the clock-tower, where the rally was held, to video tape the entire event.

Anti-War March, September 24th

2005-09-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

September 24th anti war march in DC was an amazing gathering. YLSN staff and volunteers worked hard to organize a peace parade leading from Mt. Pleasant to Adams Morgan to Dupont Circle and then joining the larger march. We made over a hundred arm bands, wrist bands and sashes to pass out and lead the larger march with our banners and music.

Our mission for the day was to build awareness around and collect donations for our newest initiative, NOLAMAYA (New Orleans Louisiana Musicians Artists Youth AID). The focus of NOLAMAYA is to organize New Orleans artists now relocated in DC and provide them with instruments, housing, donations, and gigs. We raised over $200 in donations. We also ran into our supporters from all over the country. One of which being Ursula, a 16 year old youth organizer from Milwaukee.

Ursula and YLSN

2005-09-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

In the September 24th anti-war march, we were reunited with Ursula whom we met at the Great Labor Arts Exchange in 2004. She attended again in June 2005 and informed us of her activities since 2004. She began organizing her peers in Milwaukee to speak out against the war and other community issues.

She traveled from Milwaukee with her youth contingent to speak out against the war. At the Arts Exchange earlier this year, Ursula and YLSN staff facilitated a Youth and Labor workshop and initiated the Youth and Labor Culture Fund which will incorporate more youth from around the country in GLAE next year and years to come.

Youth Leadership Support Network is spearheading this project to increase awareness about the labor movement to young people and bring more DC youth to the arts exchange.

For more information on attending the Great Labor Arts Exchange in June of 2006 or information about Youth and Labor Culture Fund, contact Sheila Mirza at 202-215-3817 or dcfresh@gmail.com

YLSN Moves to North-East, DC

2005-09-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

In Early September, YLSN moved from St. Stephen’s Church in Northwest, DC to Trinidad/Ivy City neighborhood of Northeast, DC. We are treating this new, smaller office, as a community art and media space. With help from our newest volunteer, Tarik Perkins, co-founder of Rising Roots International (www.risingroots.org) media project in Kingston, Jamaica, we have set up a small computer lab. In November, we will begin training community members basic computer skills including web design, internet research, excel, powerpoint, and other programs.

In addition, we have begun painting banners and teaching young people visual arts skills. This new space also houses our DC Youth Activism Archives with information of youth movement history including Paul Robeson, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, and student/campus organizing in the 80s and 90s around anti-apartheid and war on El Salvador.
We will begin poetry and theatre workshops in the upcoming months. For more information on these projects, volunteer opportunities, or developing collaborations, please contact Sheila Mirza at 202-215-3817 or dcfresh@gmail.com

Cast of Jaguar Priests: A Hip-Hop Theatre Myth

2005-07-16T23:42:00.000-07:00

Scene from Jaguar Priests, Cee Ellauri

2005-07-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

DC Hip-Hop Theater Festival

2005-07-16T23:40:00.000-07:00

Every year for the past five years, DC hosts the Hip-Hop Theatre Festival (HHTF). HHTF events occurred everyday from Monday, July 11 to Saturday, July 16. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Studio Theater were the main venues for performances. The free festival showcased a dynamic brand of contemporary art, music, theater, dance and poetry being crafted by members of the hip-hop generation.

Many YLSN participants, volunteers, and mentors participated in the festival starting with a production of “Jaguar Priests: A Hip-Hop Theatre Myth” written and directed by Cee Ellauri, born and raised in DC, now residing in Hawaii. The play looked at Adam and Eve as two people being a part of tribes in 3113 BC to the industrial revolution through to the era of globalization. It was a packed theatre that gave a standing ovation to the performers.

Sheila Mirza also performed as a member of Spoken Resistance at a LIVE Hip-Hop performance and Award Presentation held at Woodrow Wilson Plaza. YLSN partner organization, Sol & Soul: Arts for Social Change received a $25,000 grant from the Ludacris Foundation. The audience was full of young people from DC summer camps. They were captivated by the poetry, music, and performance. Later, Sheila Mirza and other Spoken Resistance members were asked to be interviewed by “Be More Poetic” TV.

The festival ended with a final performance given by Spoken Resistance members, Walker “Wally” Valdez, Ruth Youth, and Margaux Delott-Benette. It was full of poetry, dialogue, and skits written by Spoken Resistance members and directed by Psalmeyene 24, renowned director and playwright.

In 2004, the final night of HHTF a cast party was held at the Sol & Soul house. An all night cipher occurred there. Worldyouth Media members recorded and produced the Cypher and sold it to HHTF attendants this year. People loved the CD and the original freestyle skills of artists from DC, NYC, London, Cali, Philly and many more places.

For more information on purchasing the Hip Hop Theatre Festival Cypher CD, contact info@worldyouth.org cost of the CD is sliding scale.

WYM Interview with La Paz at GLAE

2005-06-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

Youth & Labor Workshop at GLAE by YLSN

2005-06-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

27th Annual Great Labor Arts Exchange, 2005

2005-06-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

The 27th annual Great Labor Arts Exchange (GLAE) occurred this year with a very unique focus compared to the past Exchanges. The Great Labor Arts Exchange is a three day national gathering of union members, union staff, union officials, artists, students, and labor educators who use music, art, poetry, theater, murals, posters, cartoons, puppets, film and websites to strengthen the labor movement.

Every year participants of the GLAE come together to share their music, art, and energy. A series of workshops that support arts and labor are available for participants to attend. This year, the GLAE was unlike any other. The focus was Hip-Hop and Labor. Artists such as Spoken Resistance, Molotov Mouths, and La Paz were invited to perform on the second night solely dedicated to Hip-Hop.

The evening was hosted by Rocky Delaplaine and two members of Spoken Resistance, Sheila Mirza and Walker “Wally” Valdez. In between each act Spoken Resistance performed skits to liven up the audience and add some performance art flavor to the mix.

The next day, members of Youth Leadership Support Network led their usual workshop on Youth and Labor. This year’s workshop included more than fifteen participants ranging from 15 to 89 years of age. After much discussion about ways to incorporate more youth in GLAE, we decided to start the Youth and Labor Culture Fund with $100 offered up on the spot!

Youth Leadership Support Network has decided to spearhead this project and get more donations in the fund to increase awareness about the labor movement to young people and bring more DC youth to the arts exchange.

The final night of GLAE ends with an late-night jam session and this year, upon the initiative of La Paz to continue the spirit of Hip-Hop and activism, GLAE participants danced all night long to the DJing skills of La Paz.

Worldyouth Media Members conducted an interview with La Paz on the messages of labor movement they put forth, their inspiration, and their drive.

For more information on La Paz, Molotov Mouths, Spoken Resistance, and other artists attending the Great Labor Arts Exchange, please contact info@worldyouth.org

To make a donation to the Youth and Labor Culture Fund, please contact info@worldyouth.org

Jammin' at ROOTS in Community Conference

2005-05-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

WYM Media Training at ROOTS in Community Conferenc

2005-05-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

ROOTS in Community @ Cafe Mawonaj

2005-05-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

DC based Alternate ROOTS sponsored a community conference, ROOTS in Community, last Sunday at Café Mawonaj. The mission of Alternate ROOTS is to support the creation and presentation of original art, which is rooted in a particular community or place, tradition or spirit. ROOTS is committed to social and economic justice and the protection of the natural world and addresses these concerns through its programs and services.

Worldyouth Media members and mentors requested to conduct an arts-activism, visibility, and media workshop at the conference. We asked to lead the first workshop so that the participants themselves would be able to document the all day event full of information, workshops, performances, music, and art. The training was a huge success. About twenty youth and adults learned to use a mini-disc recorder, the definition of audio clips, and good sound for radio.

Sheila Mirza, WYM organizer, Ingrid Drake and Douglas Calvin, WYM mentors, supported participants all day to document the workshops at the event. Workshops included: Song workshop lead by Luci Murphy & Wendy O’Neil, Theater of the Oppressed workshop lead by Adrienne Clancy & Ann Kilkelly, Poetry Rhythm and Spoken Word workshop lead by DC Guerilla Poetry Insurgency, amongst others. Later, participants conducted interviews with their peers on how the event is going, how it has helped them to be a part of it, and what skills and knowledge they’ve acquired from the workshops.

The day ended with an amazing community performance attended by about one-hundred community members from DC.

YO!-TV & Worldyouth Media in New York City

2005-05-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

YLSN youth organizer Sheila Mirza went to New York City to be interviewed by YO! TV (Youth Organizers TV) participants. YO! TV is a program of Educational Video Center (EVC). EVC works primarily with at-risk teenagers in New York City Schools. They provide youth with equipment and guidance to create documentaries about community issues. Participants learn to use video as a powerful technology to document conditions and research issues in their neighborhoods. They earn school credit for their time. YO-TV is for kids who are out of high school. It is designed to help graduates bridge the gap from high school to college and to find work in the field of media and technology.

YO-TV’s forthcoming video focuses on immigration issues. It shows pro-immigrant and anti-immigrant perspectives. It profiles specific stories of immigrants and interviews with anti-immigrant groups like FAIR, Federation for American Immigration Reform that is funded by white supremacists and Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project, another group that includes white supremacists in their ranks. Sheila Mirza was called on to share her story as an immigrant youth growing up in the United States and becoming a youth organizer in such anti-immigrant times.

The dedication of youth involved in YO-TV was an amazing sight. On Friday, Sheila spent about three hours with YO-TV talking about their involvement in the community, watching past videos they have produced, learning about participants’ experiences and interviewing Sheila. On Saturday, the next morning, three members of YO-TV met Sheila at 5:30am carrying a video camera, sound equipment, and a very large boom-mic. They wanted footage of Sheila reading poetry on her favorite rooftop with the backdrop of the New York City skyline during sunrise. Later, the interview continued with a profile of YLSN’s “Stop Hate, Inspire Neighborhly Engagement” (SHINE) program that researches and promotes public awareness about hate groups.

Sheila will return to YO! TV in June to help with their editing process. YO-TV members are planning to visit DC to participate in the Great Labor Arts Exchange which occurs June 19th-21st.

For More info on YO-TV, please visit www.evc.org

Tuesday Hip Hop Dance Class!

2005-04-01T18:12:00.001-08:00

Dance Team Practices for Performance

2005-04-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

Tuesday Worldyouth Media Workshops

2005-02-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

What is the Youth Leadership Support Network?

2005-02-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

Supporting Youth Activism Around the Block and Around the World

Youth Leadership Support Network is a violence-prevention, arts, media, education and training network based in Washington, DC. Founded in the fall of 1998, the Youth Leadership Support Network (www.worldyouth.org) provides a youth-organizing, media, networking and cultural work-in-progress in the greater Washington, DC area, and resources for youth activism in the nation’s capital. Ninety-six percent of District youth are people of color with an overall youth poverty rate of almost 32 percent. The DC metro region includes one of the most diverse populations in the world and tremendous wealth disparities. YLSN provides hope and opportunity for youth in a microcosm of diverse America.

"Your words and actions show a genuine commitment to bettering the minds and conditions of those around you. The work you do in your communities has a lasting effect, from the SHINE program to promote fairness and respect to your intergenerational Youth Activism Summits to share with each other your ideas for today and your hopes for the future."

-- Sen. John Kerry, February 2003 statement of support for the
Second Intergenerational Youth Activism Summit

Since incorporating in the fall of 1998, YLSN has worked with students at 66 local K-12 schools, 15 local universities, 86 local groups, 42 national groups, 36 international groups, and hundreds of performing artists, union members, movement veterans and youth from all 50 states. We are teens, college students, parents, educators, union members, performing artists, movement veterans, youth workers, media producers and community organizers. For five years YLSN has operated as an all-volunteer organization. Ninety percent of our $100,000 annual operating budget has come from in-kind donations of time and services. It is a testament to community involvement and dedication that we accomplish so much.

The unique combination of inter-related programs provide a wide-range of opportunities for youth of all ages and backgrounds to discover and hone talents, interests and skills while having a great time doing it. Hip hop dance, open-mics, street theater and neighborhood parades embrace the arts as community organizing tools while media, oral history, fundraising and investigative research teach skills backed by volunteer mentors. Our five program areas are: Worldyouth Media: Why watch the news when you can be the news, Promote the Peace music and arts, DC Youth Activism Archives, Youth2Youth Networking and SHINE – Stop Hate, Inspire Neighborhly Engagement to counter hate organizing.

Most importantly, YLSN provides space and opportunities for youth to try out new ideas, meet new friends and mentors, shape history and forge partnerships among youth groups around the block and around the world. Firmly rooted in more than 20 years of youth organizing in DC neighborhoods and the region via its predecessor, the DC Student Coalition against Apartheid and Racism (DC SCAR 1983 -- 1998), YLSN provides a rare and comprehensive approach to leadership development, networking and civic engagement.