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

Youth Inspire AFSC staff in Lagrange Ga!

This Past weekend Anton Flores, of Alterna, invited us to present an info sharing session at their 5th annual Three Kings Celebration in Lagrange, Ga.
Anton thought that a session that would highlight non-military post high school options for undocumented Latino youth would be valuable for younger attendees. This was honestly a pretty tough session to put together and in some ways it was pretty depressing. Th fact is that there's so many great under promoted non-military options out there that require a social security number, thus making them unavailable to anyone who's undocumented.

We did find that there are dozens of scholarships available and that many Ivy League schools except undocumented students. Most college counselors seem really open to help undocumented students navigate admission as well.

We found that there are a lot of alternative careers out there that seem open to anyone with the patience and discipline to go through the process of apprenticeship with someone. There's also the several farming and carpentry career paths that leave lots of room to receive a good living, or even start your own business.

We spent a lot of time talking about the Dream Act. It was not a shock that many folks had not even heard of the Dream Act. Everyone was surprised to learn about the evolution of the legislation. Many of the undocumented youth in attendance had a hard time understanding why the public service option was replaced by military service option.

We showed this video:

67% is Not A Choice. from Producciones Cimarrón on Vimeo.

After the session we had several youth that wanted to participate in our Migrant Youth Voices project by sharing their story with us and doing video interviews. I must say it was extremely humbling and inspiring(I think Josie actually teared up at one point) to spend time with these courageous kids. To hear the love and connection they have for a country that fails to recognize their right to exist in it, despite the fact that many of them have no memory of the nation they were born in and have little or nothing to go back to if forced. I couldn't help but think that in some paradoxical way they represent the last real Americans, if there is such a thing.

We're really excited about keeping up with the connections we made in Lagrange, which brings certain future inspiration! We also should tell you know to get ready for some pretty great stories, which we will eventually publish on this blog and a few other sites. We really wanna thank Anton Flores for all the amazing organizing he does all over the state and his willingness to work with us.


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

Alterna, Building Community & So Much More

While I was in LaGrange for a Truth In Recruitment strategy session(which was sponsored by Alterna) I wanted to go ahead and check out Alterna, the organization that Anton Flore's helped to start.

I must say, I was impressed. Alterna not only facilitates regular tours to Guatemala, they provide detention and prison ministry, court advocacy and monitoring, health outreach in the Latino community, legislative and policy advocacy, and school based services, they provide an extremely tangible service, cooperative housing!

Alterna basically owns five houses on the same street in LaGrange, and they rent additional space for interns. Latino immigrant families earn equity while paying a sub-market “rent” in dependable homes. They share meals, participate in community events, and share a community garden.

Check out Anton Explain what Alterna is and how you can support.





www.alternacommunity.com


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee