The Past Wednesday Night AFSC from around the country met at 60 walton street to kick off our national Youth & Militarism task force meeting. Our local counter recruitment group, Student Career Alternatives Program hosted the meeting, providing a pretty amazing spread of delicious food.
After sharing food and getting to know each other we transitioned into a show and tell, with pictures and videos, for organizers around the country. It was pretty exciting and inspiring to see what was working for folks in different communities. We saw planty of clear examples of tangible victories, large and small, around the country. Portland, the Bay Area, LA, New Orleans, Chiago, and of course Atlanta(presented by SCAP's own Josie Figueroa) highlighted their efforts to bring real non-military options to youth and challenge the systems of violence and oppression that control our bodies, minds, and communities.
After the show and tell session we went right into a group discussion about challenges and potential collab ideas. There was much discussion about the department of defenses's role in the redrafting of the Dream Act. It was a really a blessing to be in a space with folks from all over that are doing some of the most challenging youth organizing work in the country.
Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee
Below is one of the video submission from AFSC's, "One Trillion Dollars For Peace" youth video art contest that came out of a youth Group that Pablo Paredes works with in the Bay area. It's a great example of how young folks are making some of the connections between systems of vioence and oppression that control our minds, bodies, and communities.
No comments:
Post a Comment