Stories from Our Youth Leaders

LIFTING NEW VOICES

Youth Leaders Speaking Out on Civil Rights

Getting Started in Community Organizing

Host: Bianca Meza (they/them)
Host: Stephanie Ruiz (she/her)
Technical Assistance: Kristopher Hill (he/him)
Guests: Josy & Estefani

Congress of Communities youth council members discuss how getting involved in community organizing positively impacted their lives and their communities, and encourage other young people to get involved in their communities too.

Youth Civil Rights Gameshow

Hafiza (Lead and host)
Towi
Sam
Max
Chardae (Advisor)

Young people who are members of the Michigan Organization for Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH) use a popular gameshow format to discuss how rape culture is present in our everyday lives. All youth deserve to live in a world free from rape culture.

Demanding Mental Health in Schools

Ashley Matias (content, research)
Amna Khalyleh (lead researcher)
Dailiany (anchor, video editor)
Kathleen (researcher, script writer)
Magdalena (interviewer)
Alma (report interviewer)

Urban Neighborhood Initiatives education justice and mental health teams use an evening news format to demand more mental health counselors and resources in the Detroit public schools.

Wings of Change: School Safety for Immigrant Youth and Families

Estefani (writing, acting, camera)
Saul (writing, acting, camera, 3D graphics and animation)
Julissa (writing, acting, camera, editing)
Lindsey (writing, camera, editing)

MIStudentsDream Organizers Present Demands For School Sanctuary Policies To Keep Immigrant Students And Families Safe.​

Youth Storytelling for Civil Rights

Anastasey (Ani) Manolatos III; Andy Ross; Justin Smith

Youth storytellers from For Our Future talk about civil rights issues: Voting Rights, LGBTQ Equality, Student Debt Crisis.

Healing Through Gun Violence

Earneasha Byars, Silyce Lee, Brianna Donald, and DHD Executive Board members

Detroit Heals Detroit leaders discuss how young people affected by gun violence can heal through the pain and protect each other, so that the next generation can deal with the trauma that we experienced.The right to heal is a civil rights issue of our generation. To Detroit youth from Detroit youth.

An Ode to Black Lives Mattering

Written and Performed By:
Ife Martin
Fiona Colson
Algeonay Jackson
Alayae’ Hicks

The InsideOut Youth Performance Troupe performs a poem about Black Lives Mattering, and the right to live safely in the skin in which they were born.

ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER

Habiba Khatun and Matthew Harmon
EcoWorks/Youth Energy Squad
Detroit, Michigan

Habiba Khatun, a senior at Detroit International Academy, examines the human rights to access to safe drinking water — and the public health impacts and human consequences of not having running water at home

YOUTH VOICE AND EDUCATIONAL REFORM

Mohammad Muntakim and Dillon Cathro
482Forward
Detroit, Michigan

482Forward is a citywide education organizing network in Detroit. Here, Mohammad Muntakim provides youth perspectives on social identity, social cohesion, public health, and educational reform.

ONLINE LEARNING BILL OF RIGHTS

Marjana, Sam, Ama, Lourdes, Nazifa, Mykel and Emerson
Detroit Area Youth Uniting Michigan (DAYUM)
Detroit, Michigan

DAYUM fights for seats at the table for marginalized youth, who here discuss the Online Learning Bill of Rights which presents their rights to be comfortable while learning, privacy, anti-racist curriculum, break from standardized tests and qualified, certified teachers.

GEN Z ORGANIZING FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Joselyn Cortes-Samano, Kasandra Negrete, and Lindsey Matson
Congress of Communities
Detroit, Michigan

Youth discuss research on a social issue that is impacting their mental health – theirs, and others around them.

WHERE IS OUR VOICE?

Devin Devin Huynh & Jokim Bryant
The Hidden Genius Project
Los Angeles, California

In discussions of racism, classism, and politics, where are the voices of young people? This video is a poetic expression of youth voice by members of The Hidden Genius Project, which mentors Black male youth in technology creation, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills to transform their lives and communities.

YOUTH CALL FOR SCHOOL DIALOGUE ABOUT RACE

Student Leaders, Bridge The Divide, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Youth activists at Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School demonstrate an intergroup dialogue about race and assert the right of every student to a sense of safety and belonging at school.

RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS

Cristina Seals and Al White
Action Communication and Education Reform (ACER)
Duck Hill, Mississippi

In the tradition of civil rights activism in Mississippi, Cristina and Al speak about how racism affects minority students in school suspensions and push-out from school.

More of the latest work from the youth civil Rights academy

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