Mad Props To Dejah and Marc!!

This past week Dejah Ault and Marc Pongnon graduated from high school. Both Marc and Dejah have been key organizers with AFSC's Student Career Alternatives Program(SCAP), they also both participated in SCAP's college prep and SAT tutoring program, and they both helped organize last year's Be The Change Youth Convergence.

Over the past four years it's been really exciting to watch Dejah and Marc grow as both human beings and community organizers. Last summer Dejah was granted a summer internship with AFSC and spent her time organizing youth in our Be The Change Crew. Dejah's outgoing, glowing personality made her a perfect fit for a role the required a lot of presentations, creative outreach, and leading teen workshops on social justice work. Dejah plans to attend Spellman and has been award the Gates-Millennium Foundation scholarship! The Gates-Millennium Foundation scholarship is basically a full ride all the way to a PHD! Way to go Dejah!

Marc got involved with AFSC during our campaign to stop the HOPE scholarship cuts last year and after just a few days ended up writing and giving a very profound speech during a press conference that clearly articulated the connection between a bloated military budget and education cuts. Marc stayed very active with SCAP ever since. Marc has received a scholarship to the University of New Haven, based on an essay he wrote about his experience organizing with AFSC.

Our hats are off the Dejah and Marc, we're so proud of both of you! No doubt that ya'll will continue to be the change our communities need!


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

Be The Change Crew Rocks The Airwaves!

This Friday marks the 10th anniversary of the longest war in US history, Afghanistan. The human cost isn't measurable and the economic cost is estimated at close to 500 billion dollars.

Our favorite radio station in Atlanta, WRFG 89.3FM, graciously devoted five hours of air time during their fall fundraising drive to the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition for programing that focuses on the war in Afghanistan.

The Be The Change Crew was asked to take the last hour of the show to focus on the effects of war on high school aged youth.

Dejah Ault and Jasmine Enadeghe hend it down for the Be The Change crew. Both focused on the realities of being raised with war. Jasmine prepared a really staggering economic breakdown of US federal budget priorities and what the resources that are taken out of our communities to pay for war could be paying for if there was no war.

Dejah spoke about the militarization of Atlanta youth, focusing on military recruitment in schools. When they opened the phones lines they were immediately jammed with traffic. I hope to get the recording of the program up in the next few days, and there's definitely talk of a regular Be The Change Crew radio show!

Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

Be The Change 2011 Day 2

Day two of Be The Change was all about rolling up sleeves and getting down with what movement building is all about, learning how to identify root causes of problems in our communities, and effective tools to create the change we want to see in Georgia.

The day started off with a workshop on movement building. It's a workshop that I've done the last few years, but this year the lovely and talented Dejah Ault did the bulk of facilitating. The workshop focused on solid models designed to start conversations and build relationship with communities you're working in.

After the workshop there was a social justice market place. Several amazing organizations set up tables with literature and spoke with youth about their work. Atlanta Indy Media, Georgia Students for Public Higher Education, Women's Feminist Health Center, Student Career Alternatives Program, and Art as an Agent for Change were all there.

After lunch the day brought a bunch of high impact presentations on not only what Dr. King referred to as the giant triplets of evil(militarism, racism, and poverty), but also on effective tools to create change in the community. We were blessed have a crew of super talented, dynamic facilitators from some of our closet ally organizations including Anton Flores from Alterna, Allie McCullen from Georgia Students for Public Higher Education, Dawn Gibson from Atlanta Indymedia, Charmaine Davis from Working Women 9-5, Jeremy Foreman from Hands On Southeast Georgia, and Pablo Paredes from the Bay Area American Friends Service Committee kept the energy high, and the information flowing. I was surprised at the amount of information participants were able to soak up. During youth report backs I remember thinking, "dang, these youth are ready to facilitate the workshops that they just got out of!"

Every social movement has used art to express ideas. Some so art is the essence of human expression. We've all had moments when art spoke to us in ways a speech could never do. Art as an Agent for Change worked with WonderRoot Community Art Center to put together a program Saturday night called, "The Art of Activism" and they invited youth to plug their talents into it. I gotta say it was by far the dopest thing I've every seen AAC put together. Not only was there a barrage of amazing spoken word, music performances, and youth putting their talents out in front of folks, there was also live painting going down during the show.Folks were just blown away by the work of artist Corey Barksdale.

We ended the night with a big bonfire with smores, and a lot of great conversation at the lovely landtrust.


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

‘Nonviolence in Action’ Peaceful Opposition to Anti-Immigration Efforts

The King Center's inaugural “Nonviolence in Action” event focused on the the hot topic of immigration reform.The event facilitated a dialogue with several organizations, including American Friends Service Committee, using nonviolence to further the cause of fair and equitable treatment of immigrants in Georgia.

Civil Rights veteran and former AFSC staff Constance Curry moderated a panel discussion with several courageous undocumented youth who had recently risked deportation in their efforts to demand fair and just pathways to citizenship. AFSC's own Josie Figueroa was also on the panel discussing our migrant youth voice project.

The theme of the evening seemed to be the obvious connections between the civil rights movement of the 60's, and the present day fight for immigrant rights. Constance Curry seemed to reiterate that point throughout the evening and spoke of intense feelings of nostalgia when she experienced young undocumented Georgians in the street chanting proudly, "undocumented, Unafraid". The fearlessness of their recent actions parallel the fearlessness of young freedom riders of the sixties.

AFSC was proud to play a role in planning the event and we look forward to future collaborations with the King Center.

Big ups to Dejah Ault for staffing the AFSC table so well!!

Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

Students Demand; Keep HOPE Alive!!

Today at 4:30 at the Georgia capitol elementary, middle, high school, college students, and supporters gathered to demand that Georgia legislates reject HB 326 and keep the HOPE scholarship fully funded.

Keira Bruce, Kristen Barnard, Deborah Ault, Dejah Ault, Dumali Ault, Jamelia Willis, and Marc Pongnon all gave passionate beautiful speeches.

Sadly though, as amazing as each of their speeches were, if Governor Deal's HOPE cuts go through everyone of them will be priced out of an education.



Under HB 326 once a student loses HOPE, they can never get it back. No matter how well a student does once they less HOPE they lose it forever. HB 326 also takes effect immediately. Current students will have the rug pulled out from under them.

The new SAT requirements ensure that low income folk, especially people of color, will have much less access to hope. The SAT test is proven to be culturally biased. We also know that high income families can afford expensive SAT classes that regular working families cannot. Demanding a 1200 SAT course to qualify for HOPE will guarantee that those who need HOPE the most will have the hardest time getting it.

· HB 326 will price out low income folks. No question about it. The change in book fees alone will price out anyone that struggles to keep food on the table and electricity in the house. It would seem that this bill, by design, disenfranchises low income folks, especially people of color.

· We are not fooled; HB 326 DOES NOT save hope. HB 326 dismantles HOPE. We keep hearing folks say that 90% of hope will be available to students with a 3.0 or above. Not true. Nathan Deal himself admitted that that number is likely closer to 80% and that as soon as next year it could go down to 60%. The HOPE scholarship is certainly savable, the question is whether or not Georgia legislators are willing to make it a priority or not.

· The Hope scholarship is wildly popular. We will be paying attention to who’s voting to dismantle it. We hope our elected officials remember who they’re here to represent. There will be another election

After the press conference a candlelight vigil to save HOPE began on the steps of the Capitol. Coffins and tombstones lay around the steps of the capitol, many of the tombstones were being held by students who may soon by priced out of the education they've been promised for years; a promise Nathan Deal aims to break.

Some of the Press Coverage:

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/27102325/detail.html

http://www.aljazeerah.info

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/Protests-Planned-Against-HOPE-Scholarship-Changes-20110307-am-sd

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=181315&catid=40

http://thesoutherneronline.com/frontpage/http:/thesoutherneronline.com/news/hope-scholarship-changes-eligibility-requirements/


Photo's by Pastiche Lumumba and Josie Figueroa

Tim Franzen

American Friends Service Committee