tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180598552024-03-07T02:04:59.795-05:00Youth Action Research GroupA Youth Run Media and Community Organizing ProjectYouth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-41464034133191373002007-06-06T12:15:00.000-04:002007-06-15T19:51:25.074-04:00On May 5th, 2007...YARG Made HistoryHey everyone, <br />My name is Moises Miranda and I am one of YARG’s core members, or as we like to call our self’s Yarganights. First of all, I would like to let you know that this is my fist post, so feedback and constructive criticism are welcomed. Y.A.R.G. (Youth Action Research Group) has been trying to improve the Summer Youth Employment program of D.C. which is supposed to provide paid job training opportunites to DC Youth age 14-18. We (YARG) have had meetings with several DC City Council Members, including Carol Schwartz, who is part of the Workforce Development Committee. We have been to her office, we flooded her questions and we asked her for a hearing specifically on the Summer Youth Employment Program. We have also been meeting with other Council members so they can get on the issue and continue to apply pressure so things get done. After several meetings, YARG was able to get a special hearing on the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), on Saturday, so young people could attend. We invited youth and several other non-profit organizations and partners to come to the hearing to testify. The following are the testimonies of our members (including me), along with a video of each, so you can’t say that ya didn’t read any cause it was too much to read. Enjoy.<br /><br />martha<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-A_nDSur2jg"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-A_nDSur2jg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />jose<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WCQ1-QcH_i8"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WCQ1-QcH_i8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />emmanuael<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/x31AwvICm-4"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/x31AwvICm-4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />anita<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GqJQqR5L-fo"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GqJQqR5L-fo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />krissy<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qq07R-Uaubc"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qq07R-Uaubc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />moises (me:)<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u9861Xh11Ig"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u9861Xh11Ig" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />carol shwartz applauds YARG<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hKW9XmB8IOI"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hKW9XmB8IOI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-83688401289420434772007-02-02T17:47:00.000-05:002007-02-05T18:02:44.481-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsP16heYyt0axCdEJd0mPZKKwyVQlLLjANU282q2_gf-JZE2IJV-WQB-XUdUM0onEyHF0bl_TmjkuJdSb5taTrPIJRzb6DtrJ3JM-UwHIg75WqqPYBjHq44PPiOOCx4YI9-d06kA/s1600-h/YARG+Invite+Feb+12+7pm+BBP.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsP16heYyt0axCdEJd0mPZKKwyVQlLLjANU282q2_gf-JZE2IJV-WQB-XUdUM0onEyHF0bl_TmjkuJdSb5taTrPIJRzb6DtrJ3JM-UwHIg75WqqPYBjHq44PPiOOCx4YI9-d06kA/s320/YARG+Invite+Feb+12+7pm+BBP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028186725000492850" border="0" /></a><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:6;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">Celebrate</span> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">Youth Activism</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">with</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">YARG</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">!</span><br /></span></strong> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Join the </span></span><a style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);" href="http://www.yargdc.org/">Youth Action Research Group (YARG)</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> </span>for the release of our new </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);" href="http://www2.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=18059855">action research report</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> & recommendations for quality youth employment training and job opportunities in Washington, DC.</span> </span> </div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Monday February 12, 2007</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">7 pm</span><br /><a style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);" href="http://www.busboysandpoets.com/"> Busboys & Poets Cafe</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">2021 14th St. NW</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">RSVP </span></strong></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);font-size:100%;" ><a href="mailto:yarg@yargdc.org">yarg@yargdc.org</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span></strong></span></div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">To learn more & to sign on-to YARG's</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);" href="http://www.yargdc.org/2007_2008_Recs_Youth_Employ.pdf">Priority Recommendations</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">for Quality Youth Employment email</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);" href="mailto:yarg@yargdc.org">yarg@yargdc.org</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> or call (202) 462-5767. Hope to see </span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">you Feb 12th!</span></span> </span>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-29791152114688830692007-01-24T17:16:00.000-05:002007-02-05T17:37:09.717-05:00YARG Member Nancy Cruz Speaks Out for Quality Youth Employment in DC<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHLtc9ha7dBlJrmhLmP9qB1_qJ9GnD-H3I048i0_xGv6BKpivwZqgADbCXJjBU5-9wYdqQ5rb85gVKhkmglLlYq4p53j59rF3W0sdLJMv4bOlaFegWI9GT6tXpMbFRlO9CsPyfg/s1600-h/P1010079.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHLtc9ha7dBlJrmhLmP9qB1_qJ9GnD-H3I048i0_xGv6BKpivwZqgADbCXJjBU5-9wYdqQ5rb85gVKhkmglLlYq4p53j59rF3W0sdLJMv4bOlaFegWI9GT6tXpMbFRlO9CsPyfg/s320/P1010079.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028179024124131106" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:85%;">Nancy Cruz, right, testifies before the Workers' Rights Board<br />as part of a panel on Youth Employment in DC.<br /></span></span></div><br /><br /> <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=133688794">DC Jobs with Justice</a><br />Workers' Rights Board hearing: Tuesday, Jan. 23rd, <st1:time minute="30" hour="18">6:30-8:30pm</st1:time><br /><st1:place><st1:placename>John</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Wilson</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Building</st1:placename></st1:place>, <st1:street><st1:address>1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW</st1:address></st1:street><br /></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p>Testimony from:<span style=""> </span>Nancy Cruz, 5075 Just <st1:place><st1:city>St.</st1:city> <st1:state>NE</st1:state></st1:place> <st1:place><st1:city>Washington</st1:city>, <st1:state>DC</st1:state> <st1:postalcode>20019</st1:postalcode></st1:place><br /><o:p><br /></o:p>Hello my name is Nancy Cruz.<span style=""> </span>I am seventeen years old and I am a senior at <st1:place><st1:placename>Bell</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Multicultural</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>High School</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>My dad is a chef and my mom is a janitor at <st1:place><st1:placename>Georgetown</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>University</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>We live in <st1:place>NE DC</st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my testimony today with the Workers’ Rights Board.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>I am a member of the <a href="http://www.yargdc.org">Youth Action Research Group</a>, a youth membership based organizing project in DC.<span style=""> </span>We organize around youth issues that we choose and now we are working to improve youth employment.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>We did an <a href="http://www.yargdc.org/New%20Workforce_YARG.pdf">action research report</a> on DC’s Summer Youth Employment program because it gives youth the opportunity to gain hands-on experience, build their résumés, and earn money.<span style=""> </span>We recognize it’s a great program to have for our city and while many jobsites offer great experiences for youth, the program as a whole could use some improvement.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>To improve this program most importantly, the Department of Employment Services needs to improve how the program actually runs.<span style=""> </span>Right now, many youth do not get paid on time, their jobsites are not planned very well, they don’t have anything to do, and they aren’t learning things to put on their resume. </p> <ul><li><!--[if !supportLists]-->This summer we want for D.O.E.S. to fix their payment system so youth get paid on time and for the right amount.</li></ul><ul><li>We also want D.O.E.S. to have a point person for when youth and employers have problems.<span style=""> </span>Right now, when people have problems or questions, their phone doesn’t get answered.<span style=""> </span>We need to know that someone is on the other end of the phone to help address the issues when they come up.</li></ul><ul><li>We also think that youth should be paid the DC minimum wage which is right now seven dollars.<span style=""> </span>$5.15 per hour is NOT enough for youth to earn.<span style=""> </span>We have to pay to have new school supplies, buy new clothes, and for me, I have to give some my money that I receive from my job to my mom. </li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Congress right now is thinking about raising the federal minimum wage.<span style=""> </span>We want D.O.E.S. to put enough money into the budget for 2008 to pay youth the new DC minimum wage AND to plan ahead for this summer in 2007 to pay the new federal minimum wage and not cut the 11,000 promised jobs for this summer.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Lastly, we want for the 2008 budget to include more money so that we can have YEAR-ROUND jobs for youth who are in school and for youth who are out of school.<span style=""> </span>1000 jobs for out of school youth would really be a good start and 500 jobs for youth who are in school.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" ><span style=""> </span></span> <p class="MsoNormal">We are passing around a sheet that has our <a href="http://www.yargdc.org/2007_2008_Recs_Youth_Employ.pdf">recommendations</a>.<span style=""> </span>We hope everyone here today will support us as we organize to win these improvements to youth employment.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Please also sign up to come to our event in February where we will celebrate the publishing of our youth written research report on this issue.<span style=""> </span></p>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1157660502351635052006-09-07T16:11:00.000-04:002006-09-07T16:47:48.416-04:00DC Youth Rally to Stop the War on Youth<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/AR-YouthRally2-8-31-06.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/AR-YouthRally2-8-31-06.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> (YARGies Jacinta, Tiffany, Corey. .)<br /><br /></span><br />Click to read news coverage of the rally from the <a href="http://www.washingtoninformer.com/ARYouthRally2006Aug31.html">Washington Informer</a><br /><br /><br /> <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">(& Marina)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/marina.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/marina.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.washingtoninformer.com/ARYouthRally2006Aug31.html"></a>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1157660852184761752006-08-28T14:22:00.000-04:002006-09-07T20:47:33.610-04:00Colbert Interviews Eleanor Holmes Norton<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/Eleanor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/Eleanor.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Click to watch on UTube:<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPXWsAxm9nM">Taxation without Representation</a>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1156182805540259892006-08-21T13:52:00.000-04:002006-08-21T14:01:33.840-04:00Internet Disussion of the Crime Bill on DCist<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/DCist.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/DCist.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Our post below was also submitted to <a href="http://www.dcist.com/archives/2006/08/20/opinionist_dc_y.php">dcist.com</a>. <----- Click on the link to join the debate,<br /><br />love- YARGYouth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1156176934974850772006-08-21T11:48:00.000-04:002006-08-21T13:03:10.183-04:00DC Youth Speak Out Against the Mayor’s Emergency Crime Bill<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="">By: Jose Andrade, age 19, Nancy Cruz, age 16, Adriana Reynoso, age 18, Victor Benitez, age 16, Jacinta Wood, age 18, and Tiffany Jones, age 17</span><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="">This emergency crime bill that the mayor passed was a shock. Why was a crime emergency called after someone was murdered in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="">Georgetown</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="">? Not that it was good that someone was killed, but people in other D.C. neighborhoods deal with friends and family being killed every day and it’s not considered a crime emergency.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="">To us, it seems like only youth were blamed for what D.C. police are calling a sharp increase in crime when it is mostly adults who commit violent crime in D.C. Only one youth has been charged with homicide in D.C. this year. We feel, it’s easy to blame youth and put all these rules on us because we can’t vote. Besides, the things they put into place aren’t going to work. They haven’t yet; it’s almost been 30 days and people are still being killed in D.C.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="">What has happened is more stereotyping of youth. The curfew of </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="22"><span style="">10 pm</span></st1:time><span style=""> wrongly punishes all youth. Young people who are out on the streets late at night and doing wrong are going to be out even if there is a curfew. The youth the curfew affects the most are the majority of us that are not out doing wrong. </span><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="">Here’s an example. One of us was stopped by the police a week before the curfew went into effect. It wasn’t even 10 yet, she knows because she was coming back from a community meeting we had all been to as part of work at YARG. The cop car pulled over and the cop shined his light<span style="font-size:100%;">s in her eyes. He asked her what she was doing out so late. After she told him, he asked if she knew that there was going to be a new curfew of </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><st1:time minute="0" hour="22"><span style="">10 pm</span></st1:time></span><span style="font-size:100%;">. She said no. He said that it would start the next week and then he let her go.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">She was stopped for no reason when she was minding her business and trying to go home.<span style=""> </span>This causes youth not to trust police because they just assume that if you are a youth that you are doing wrong.<span style=""> </span>A <st1:time minute="0" hour="22">10 pm</st1:time> curfew means that we can’t go to an <st1:time minute="0" hour="8">8 o’clock</st1:time> movie without adult supervision.<span style=""> </span>We are on lock down in our own city.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=""><span style="font-size:100%;">The cameras that the crime bill calls for also make no sense. Why is the city going to spend millions of dollars on a strat</span>egy that is not supported by research and has not been proven to work in other cities? A lot of people in D.C. neighborhoods have been saying that cameras are going to work and that they want them in their neighborhoods. They probably wouldn’t think that if D.C. Council members told them how well they have worked in other cities. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="">The other thing that the crime bill does is make it so that cops can look into youth’s records and hold them without bond. Cops can also tell principals about a youth’s suspected involvement in a crime and they can be expelled from school. That is the last thing that is going to help youth stay out of trouble. Isn’t our justice system supposed to be innocent until proven guilty? This crime bill makes it so that all youth in D.C. are considered guilty until they or their lawyers prove them innocent. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="">If D.C. wants to help keep us safe and out of trouble, what we really need is the city to invest more in us instead of in locking us up. D.C. spends $150,000 dollars per youth they lock up at </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="">Oak Hill</span></st1:city><span style="">, </span><st1:state><span style="">D.C.</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="">’s juvenile detention center; and only $12,000 per youth trying to get an education in DC public schools. The crime bill spends $2 million on cameras and $8 million to pay cops for overtime. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="">All this money is going for ‘crime prevention’ strategies that don’t work even in the short term, when it could be better spent on long term strategies that we know help youth, like making sure we get a good education at schools that aren’t falling apart and have no air conditioning in 80 degree weather and job training programs that prepare us to have good paying jobs in D.C. when we are older. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="">This </span><st1:date year="2006" day="23" month="8"><span style="">Wednesday, August 23, 2006</span></st1:date><span style=""> from </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="11"><span style="">11 a.m.</span></st1:time><span style=""> to </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="14"><span style="">2 p.m.</span></st1:time><span style=""> at </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="">Freedom Plaza</span></st1:city><span style="">, </span><st1:state><span style="">D.C.</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style=""> youth will have a rally to speak out against the Mayor’s Emergency Crime Bill and talk about what youth think are real solutions to youth violence. Come out to our rally and learn more about what youth think are solutions to crime in D.C. and what we are doing address youth violence. We are not criminals. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1151961267536372622006-07-03T17:13:00.000-04:002006-07-03T17:24:36.776-04:00Freedom Involves a Revolutionary Education<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/fire.2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/fire.2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style=";font-family:arial black;font-size:130%;" >The Justice 4 DC Youth Coalition </span></span><div style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" align="left"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 127);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:arial black;font-size:130%;" >Proudly Presents ........... F.I.R.E ! </span><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" align="left"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:14;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 127);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">F.I.R.E. (Freedom Involves a Revolutionary Education)</span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;" align="left"><v:shape id="_x0000_s1028" style="margin-top: 11.9pt; z-index: 3; margin-left: 324pt; width: 123.9pt; position: absolute; height: 105.95pt;" type="#_x0000_t202" filled="f" stroked="f"><v:textbox></v:textbox></v:shape><v:shape id="_x0000_s1027" style="margin-top: 7.1pt; z-index: 2; margin-left: 306pt; width: 153pt; position: absolute; height: 126pt;" type="#_x0000_t202" filled="f" stroked="f"><v:textbox></v:textbox><w:wrap side="left"></w:wrap></v:shape><span style="z-index: 2; position: absolute;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="border: medium none rgb(212, 208, 200);"><div class="shape" style="padding: 3.6pt 7.2pt;" shape="_x0000_s1027"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-size:14;" ><span style="font-family:Courier New;">Is a six-week political education <o:p></o:p></span></span></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" align="left"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:14;" >& leadership development program <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" align="left"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:14;" >4 DC young people ages 13-21, <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" align="left"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:14;" >Who have been affected by <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" align="left"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:14;" >the juvenile (or adult) justice system <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" align="left"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:14;" >And/or are interested in <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" align="left"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:14;" >organizing for real youth justice</span></b><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style=";font-family:'Franklin Gothic Demi';font-size:14;" >.</span><span style=";font-family:'Franklin Gothic Demi';font-size:11;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192); text-align: right;" align="left"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11;" ><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);" align="left"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11;" >PLUS workshops in hip-hop/rap, theater, poetry and more</span><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:8;" >!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"></div><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:8;color:black;" ><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192); text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:11;" >Thursdays, 5:00 - 8:30 pm <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192); text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:11;" >Starting July 20 - August 18<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192); text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:11;" >At the Youth Education Alliance, <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192); text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:11;" >2310 Martin Luther King Ave SE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192); text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:11;" >(two blocks from Anacostia Metro)</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:'Franklin Gothic Demi';font-size:11;color:black;" ><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:11;color:black;" ><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';color:white;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">*<span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0);">***</span><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0);">Kick-Off Event: Know Your Rights with the Police***<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';color:white;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0);">Monday, July 17<sup>th</sup> 6:30-9:00pm at<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';color:white;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0);">The Social Action & Leadership School for Activists (SALSA)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';color:white;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0);">1112 16th St NW, Suite 600 (between L & M Street)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:12;color:white;" ><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0);">(Red Line: Farragut North)</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:11;color:black;" ><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:11;" >Participants can receive up to $100 stipend for completing ALL 6 sessions of F.I.R.E!</span></b><b><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11;" ><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><b><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:10;" >To sign up right away or to get more information: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:10;" >Call Arja at 202-386-9809 OR 202-588-3580 X 13 <span style="font-size:0;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div><span style=";font-family:'Courier New';font-size:10;" ><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">or Email: anfreedomfighter@gmail.com</span> </span></div></span></span>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1145570746089399182006-04-27T17:46:00.000-04:002006-04-28T20:17:28.786-04:00The Mechanics of a Walk Out<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/6%20Bell%20Walkout%20-%20students%20marching.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/6%20Bell%20Walkout%20-%20students%20marching.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />By Jose Andrade, Age 19<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Photos By Ann Caton from the Youth Education Alliance (YEA)</span><br /></span><br />It was a restless day at <a href="http://mcip.org/Mission.htm"><st1:place><st1:placename>Bell</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Multicultural</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>High School</st1:placetype></st1:place></a> on <st1:date month="4" day="6" year="2006">April 06, 2006</st1:date>. It was the last day of school before Spring Break began. This was a much needed vacation after rigorous testing that students had just undergone. School administrators were anxious because they expected poor attendance on behalf of the students that day. Whenever there are week-long breaks from school it's naturally expected to have very low attendance on the day before the break begins.<br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="">To the surprise of the administrators, <b style="">attendance on this day was as high as could be expected on any other day</b>.<b style=""> </b>Something was circulating in the new hallways of Bell Multicultural High School and the administrators wanted to know what it was. Little did they know that the answer would <b style="">walk-out </b><span style="">the</span> front door later that day.<br /><br />The reason the attendance was unchanged on this day is because a group of dedicated youth had taken it upon themselves to demonstrate how they felt about the current legislative heat wave around immigration reform that had been giving many Americans a burn. The name of this legislation was <a href="http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/HR4437.html">HR4437</a>. To put it concisely, this bill would allow the federal government to criminalize all 11 million undocumented immigrants that currently live in the US and the people who help them. <st1:country-region><st1:place></st1:place></st1:country-region><br /><br /><st1:city><st1:place>YARG</st1:place></st1:city> youth organizers and Bell student leaders destined this day to be the day students walked out in support of immigrants across the nation. It was the day the <a href="http://www.nclr.org/content/policy/detail/1331/">DREAM Act</a> would be reintroduced to the House of Representatives. We decided to walk out just before the last period of the school day because we wanted to make sure people knew that this was not about getting out of classes.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/126795465_84177acec3_o.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/126795465_84177acec3_o.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">The Mechanics behind the walk out were <b>Margarita Juarez, Jose Lemus, Jose Funes, Judith Reyes, Oscar Calix, and me, Jose Andrade</b> with the support of Danielle Kurzweil, Director of YARG. We decided that we should let our voices be heard in an organized and non-violent way and let our message be heard through the masses of participating youth.<br /><br />"I may not be an immigrant but it is still important to help out my fellow peers. Let's just hope our voices are heard!", Margarita zealously told me when I asked why she decided to participate in the walkout. Margarita is a graduating senior with a 4.0 GPA who expects to go to college.</p> That was the general attitude of the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2006/04/06/PH2006040602316.html">100 youth</a> that decided to risk disciplinary action from the school administration and take their voices to the streets. Throughout the school day we had been hearing that the police had been called and that they were not going to let us leave. Some students were threatened that if they walked out they were not going to be able to graduate, would be kicked out of the Honors Society, or were not going to be able to go to the school dance.<br /><br />We called Danielle from a school phone and she let us know that we had support from all over the community. Ann Caton and Jonathan Stith from the <a href="http://www.citizen.org/cmep/foodsafety/food_irrad/schoollunch/articles.cfm?ID=11659">Youth Education Alliance</a>, Marnie Brady from <a href="http://www.neighborsconsejo.org/index.html">Neighbor's Consejo</a>, LaDon James and Maricela Donahue from the <a href="http://www.fairimmigration.org/home/index.php">Center for Community Change</a>, Dana Walters from the <a href="http://yargdc.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_yargdc_archive.html">Justice for DC Youth Coalition</a>, Chitra Subramanian, and YARG's founder Natalie Avery came out to the school to support us and made calls and sent out emails to let people in the community know what we were about to do.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/3%20Bell%20Walkout%20-%20students%20chanting.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/3%20Bell%20Walkout%20-%20students%20chanting.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We decided to go ahead with our plan. We marched out in uniformity through the front door guided by a banner that read, "Si Se Puede" (Yes, We Can). Both administrators and teachers alike followed the youth marchers in awe, astonishment, and, for some, in unexpressed approval.<b> We knew a lot of them supported us but couldn't officially announce it. </b> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">"I want people and the government to change the way they treat immigrants because at some point almost all Americans had parents who were immigrants...so they need to stop being hypocrites," yelled a student on a bullhorn as the marchers walked out into the sunshine. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">The crowd of students assembled in an impenetrable mass of solidified organizing and pride. We yelled, we shouted, we walked and, most importantly, we delivered the message.</p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/4%20Bell%20Walkout%20-%20students%20say%20no%20to%20HR%204437.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/4%20Bell%20Walkout%20-%20students%20say%20no%20to%20HR%204437.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Supporting the <b style="">DREAM Act</b> and demanding that <b style="">immigrants be supported in working for a better life for themselves and their families</b> was the <b style="">message, </b>while <b style="">unity and diversity </b>was the<b style=""> guiding theme.</b> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><b>Our voices were heard.</b> Danielle had sent out a press release, and when we reached the pavement <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040602170.html">The Washington Post</a> (see our quotes on <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040602170_2.html">page two</a>), WPFW, and several <a href="http://andiamnotlyingforreal.blogspot.com/2006/04/si-se-puede.html">independent news</a> sources immediately began jotting down the chants we yelled. The reporters tweezed a few students out the solidified mob for questions.</p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/7%20Bell%20Walkout%20-%20YARG%20repping%20to%20the%20press.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/7%20Bell%20Walkout%20-%20YARG%20repping%20to%20the%20press.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /></span>The crowd then got really motivated and expressive; we decided that we should release some of that motivation by marching around the perimeter of the school. Like a serpent smoothly bellying across open water we held our composure allowing no breaks in the march. <p class="MsoNormal" style="">We demonstrated and delivered our message peacefully. We do recognize that we took a big risk and caused the faculty some uneasines<span style="">s. In the end, the Bell administrators did not follow through on the threats and asked instead that we each write essays and make classroom presentations about why we did the walk out. We acknowledge and support our principal Mrs. Tukeva and the Bell faculty for the social justice work they have done over the years, however, now</span> it is time to hand over the burdensome torch to the next generation.</p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/2%20Bell%20Walkout%20-%20students%20leaving.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/2%20Bell%20Walkout%20-%20students%20leaving.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1144186323034712402006-04-04T17:01:00.000-04:002006-04-28T18:35:34.983-04:00PASS THE DREAM ACT NOWYouth Action Research Group<br />DC Youth UNITE!!!<br />For a JUST Immigration Reform<br /><br />Date: Monday, April 10th<br />Place: Malcolm X Park, 16th St and Euclid<br />Time: 12:00 to 3:00 Youth Rally<br />3:00 (SHARP!) March to the Monument<br />(make signs & banners, learn chants, and be interviewed for our radio show!)<br /><br />Call YARG at 202-462-5767 for more information<br />(see flyer attached!!)<br /><br />Whats up DC youth, youth workers, allies/adults who support DC young people!<br />We have been working hard pounding the pavement, doing presentations in our classes, talking to youth in our school lunch rooms - - inviting them to come out to a youth rally this coming Monday, April 10th ** see above for details. We met with youth from all up and down the East coast this weekend and we are coordinating our rally with youth from other cities who are organizing ACROSS THE NATION!!!<br /><br />We need your help! to help get the word out. Come out to Malcolm X park on Monday, Bring your friends, and help spread the word to other DC youth and adults who believe in social justice and the rights of all human beings to work for a better life for themselves and their families.<br /><br />Hundreds of thousands of people will be taking it to the streets this Monday in cities ACROSS THE NATION to protest against a hateful, racist bill currently being debated in congress (HR 4437) that if passed into law would criminalize 11 million human beings living in the US who are 'undocumented' and the organizations that help them (that means YARG!).<br /><br />We are organizing to STOP these bills and to help pass JUST immigration reform, including a bill that will be reintroduced to the House of Representatives this Thursday - the DREAM Act - which would enable 65,000 students per year, who under current law are unable to go to college, to go to college and earn legal status (see attached fact sheet for more details).<br /><br />As it is now, people have been living 'undocumented' in the US working hard, oftentimes doing backbreaking labor under unsafe conditions for very little pay to provide for their families because of poor economic conditions in their home countries, due in large part to US foreign policy.<br />STOP HR4437! WE WANT JUST IMMGRATION REFORM!<br /><br />Students in DC, for whom DC is our home, have been working hard in our classes to graduate from high school. We need this bill to become a law so that DC students who have earned our right to go to college will be supported in acheiving our dreams.<br />PASS THE DREAM ACT NOW!<br /><br />Love,<br />Danielle, Jose A., LaKeisha, Denisse, Judith, Aqiyla, Jose L., Margherita, Tim, Deja, Calix, Carlos, Nate, Stephanie, Sandra, and everyone else we don't have time to list!<br /><br />Thanks for your support - see you on the streets!<br /><br /><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.yargdc.blogspot.com/"></a>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1143757024144181442006-03-30T16:42:00.000-05:002006-03-30T17:48:52.956-05:00Joining the Fight for Fair Immigration Reform<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/untitled.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/untitled.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">By: Jose Andrade, Age 19<br /><br /></span>This weekend, April 1st and 2nd, YARG staff (me and Danielle) and members (Judith and Jose L.) will travel to Newark, NJ to attend an Immigration rights training and march. This is a youth advocacy training to sharpen our skills as youth leaders and non-violent demonstrators.<br /><br />At this training youth are going to learn how to use skills effectively to help their organizing and learn organizing tactics to help them win campaigns in their home cities or states.<br /><br />"Young people from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia are broadening their message for fair reform. Guest speakers at the training include civil rights movement leader Jaribu Hill who will instill the significance of young people’s positive and peaceful roles in social movements of the past." (From the Center for Community Change Press Release)<br /><br />If you don't have anything to do this weekend, you <em>might want to drop to</em> New Jersey and participate in the activities.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">See Below for Full Media Release</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"></span><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="75" preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:formulas> <v:path extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" connecttype="rect"> <o:lock ext="edit" aspectratio="t"> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'width:207pt;" fillcolor="window"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\DANIEL~1.YAR\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image001.png" title="NEW-CCC-LOGO(PC)"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img width="276" height="113" src="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CDANIEL%7E1.YAR%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_image002.jpg" shapes="_x0000_i1025" /><!--[endif]--><span style=""> </span><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size:22;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'width:147pt;height:110.25pt'"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\DANIEL~1.YAR\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtml1\01\clip_image003.png" title=""> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img width="196" height="147" src="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CDANIEL%7E1.YAR%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_image004.jpg" shapes="_x0000_i1026" /><!--[endif]--></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin: 0in -31.5pt 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.5in;"><b style=""><i style=""><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:16;color:black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin: 0in -31.5pt 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><b style=""><i style=""><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Students Join Fight for Fair Immigration Reform</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin: 0in -31.5pt 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: center; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Sharpen Advocacy Skills at Youth Training, Kicks Off with Youth March and Rally</span><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><b style="">WHERE:</b></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><st1:place><st1:placename><b style="">Essex</b></st1:placename><b style=""> </b><st1:placetype><b style="">County</b></st1:placetype><b style=""> </b><st1:placetype><b style="">College</b></st1:placetype></st1:place><b style="">,</b></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> <st1:street><st1:address>303 University Avenue</st1:address></st1:street></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;">, <st1:city><st1:place>Newark</st1:place></st1:city></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> (training)<o:p></o:p><br /><span style=""> </span><b style="">Grace Episcopal Church Office,</b> <st1:address><st1:street>950 Broad Street</st1:street>, <st1:city>Newark</st1:city></st1:address></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> (rally)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p>WHEN:</b></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><st1:date month="4" day="1" year="2006">April 1<sup>st,</sup> 2006</st1:date></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> at <st1:time minute="0" hour="9">9:00 am</st1:time></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> (training); <st1:time minute="0" hour="12">12:00 pm</st1:time></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> at Grace Episcopal Church (rally)<o:p></o:p><br /><span style=""> </span><st1:date month="4" day="2" year="2006">April 2<sup>nd</sup>, 2006</st1:date></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> at <st1:time minute="30" hour="8">8:30 am</st1:time></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> (training continues)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;">(</span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:place><st1:city><span style="">Newark</span></st1:city><span style="">, </span><st1:state><span style="">NJ</span></st1:state></st1:place></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;">) In the past week, thousands of young people across the country have actively joined the fight for immigration reform.</span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> Youth are visibly taking action through non-violent demonstrations and school walk-outs from coast to coast in hope of influencing their political leaders to pass immigration legislation that’s fair and humane and include the DREAM Act. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;">Although The DREAM Act, legislation that would provide an opportunity to achieve a college education and a path to citizenship to undocumented students who were raised in the country, was recently approved unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the fight is not over. Hundreds of young people whose lives could be changed or whose peers would be affected by the immigration reform measures <span style=""> </span>still under consideration, will congregate this weekend to acquire leadership and organizing skills during an intensive capacity building training and Rally.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p>Young people from </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:state><st1:place><span style="">Massachusetts</span></st1:place></st1:state></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;">, </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:state><st1:place><span style="">Rhode Island</span></st1:place></st1:state></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;">, </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:state><st1:place><span style="">New Jersey</span></st1:place></st1:state></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;">, </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:place><st1:city><span style="">New York</span></st1:city><span style="">, </span><st1:state><span style="">Pennsylvania</span></st1:state></st1:place></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;">, </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:state><st1:place><span style="">Maryland</span></st1:place></st1:state></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> and </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:state><st1:place><span style="">Virginia</span></st1:place></st1:state></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> are broadening their message for fair reform. Guest speakers at the training include civil rights movement leader Jaribu Hill who will instill the significance of young people’s positive and peaceful roles in social movements of the past.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p>As part of the training the youth will engage in a rally and march from </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="">Essex</span></st1:placename><span style=""> </span><st1:placetype><span style="">County</span></st1:placetype><span style=""> </span><st1:placetype><span style="">College</span></st1:placetype></st1:place></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> to Grace Episcopal Church where several community leaders, labor unions, clergy members and young people will speak.<span style=""> </span>Candidates for mayor of </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="">Newark</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> are also expected to attend. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="">Newark</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> hosts the second of five youth trainings organized by the Center for Community Change (</span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:stockticker><span style="">CCC</span></st1:stockticker></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;">) and the Fair Immigration Reform Movement. Additional trainings are planned through early May in </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="">Phoenix</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;">, </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="">Salem</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> and </span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:city><st1:place><span style="">Nashville</span></st1:place></st1:city></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);"> to motivate the energetic young participants into becoming the advocates they aspire for as immigration protests intensify around the nation.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"># # #<o:p><br /></o:p></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"> The Center for Community Change is a nonprofit, nonpartisan low income advocacy group that promotes the development of community organizing as a national force for social and economic justice. </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;"><st1:stockticker><strong><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">FIRM</span></i></strong></st1:stockticker><strong><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (Fair Immigration Reform Movement) is a coalition</span><span style=""> </span></i></strong></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;">of grassroots community organizations nationwide, working on behalf of comprehensive immigration reform and immigrant rights and is convened by Center for Community Change. www.communitychange.org.</span><br /></p>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1143485056767817362006-03-28T13:35:00.000-05:002006-04-28T19:05:32.160-04:00Immigration: A glimpse of Injustice in Action<span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">By Denisse Rodriguez</span><br /><br />What's up blogger readers out there:<br /><br />Here is a pretty interesting<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2006/03/02/VI2006030201294.html"> </a><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2006/03/02/VI2006030201294.html">video</a> about the Minutemen who are against immigrant rights, and the Casa of Maryland who are in support of immigration rights. I think this video really exposes the discrimination that not only immigrants, but us young latinos are facing as well. So, take a glimpse of injustice in action!Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1143158630144805092006-03-27T13:40:00.000-05:002006-03-27T14:19:56.996-05:00Latin Rappers that I think deserve more Respect<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/untitled.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/untitled.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);">By: Jose Andrade, Age 19</span><br /><br />I want to know, Why aren't Latin rappers looked upon with the same amount of respect as other rappers? For this post, I just want to highlight some of the Latin rappers that I believe deserve more respect.<br /><br />Immortal Technique has political, poetic, and scientific sway in his rhyme scheme. He has the talent to rap as if he was an angry Harvard theologian or biblical scholar. He is a true revolutionary; a Che or Latin Huey of our time.<br /><br /><em>The Fourth Branch AKA the Media-</em><br /><em><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">"The voice of racism preaching the gospel is devilish /A fake church called the prophet Muhammad a terrorist/ Forgetting God is not a religion, but a spiritual bond/ And Jesus is the most quoted prophet in the Qu'ran /They bombed innocent people, tryin' to murder Saddam /When you gave him those chemical weapons to go to war with Iran/This is the information that they hold back from Peter Jennings/Cause Condoleeza Rice is just a new age Sally Hemmings"</span></em><br /><em><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></em><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">"Yeah.... Harlem streets stay flooded in white powder/Like those mother f**kers runnin' away from the twin towers/Gun shots rock the earth like a meteor shower/Bowling For Columbine, fair, giving the media power/Innocence devoured like a chicken spot snack box/Government cocaine cooked into ghetto crack rock/Corrupt cops false testimony at your arraignment/Check to check, constant struggle to make the payments/Working your whole life wondering where the day went/The subway stays packed like a multi-cultural slave shipIt's rush hour, 2:30 to 8, non stoppin'"</span><br /><br />Big Pun has the lyrical ability of Biggie Smalls with a bit of Tupac mixed in with deep metaphor on the harsh reality of street life. He's a deep thinker and uses symbolism in many of his raps; a really large poet at heart. He has mastered the elements of story writing and incorporated them in his music; to think that he didn't even graduate from high school. He stands out as an example of what a Latin male can do if given the chance.<br /><br /><em>Rip in Peace.<br /></em><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/pun2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/pun2.jpg" border="0" /></a> <em>Mama-</em><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><em>"I can murder half the world laugh while the other side hate me but hurt one hair on my mamma head and I'ma cry like a baby She my heart and soul; what Jimi Hendrix was to rock'n'roll/Made me believe I could achieve the impossible/Now you know one of my weakness's, but Punisher keeps it glizz"</em></span><br /><em><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"></span></em><br /><em><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"Brave In The Heart"(feat. Terror Squad)-</span></em><br /><em><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">"Just some words to know - if you run the streets/come in peace or leave in pieces/Even Jesus was killed by the polices/They crucified him now they inject us with juice to fry 'em"</span></em><br /><em><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"></span></em><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">I think these few selected quotes really capture some of the creativity of Latin rappers. I hope that </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">whoever is reading this piece can better appreciate</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Latin brothers in the struggle.</span></span><br /></span>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1143155193458883002006-03-24T15:14:00.000-05:002006-03-27T13:32:50.623-05:00Shout Outs to YARG Members and Alumni<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/101-0159_IMG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/101-0159_IMG.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">By Aqiyla Edwards, Age 16</span><br /><strong></strong><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">YARG WANTS TO HIGHLIGHT OUR MEMBERS AND ALUMNI WHO HAVE CONTINUOUSLY DONE TREMENDOUS AND OUTSTANDING THINGS WITHIN THEIR LIVES.</span> </span><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/IMG_0048.jpg"><br /></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/IMG_0048.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/IMG_0048.jpg" border="0" /></a>CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT <span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);"><br />Damaar, Kevin, Odaine, and Sachonho (with LaKeisha)</span><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/IMG_0094.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" height="240" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/IMG_0094.jpg" width="242" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/IMG_0089.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" height="318" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/IMG_0089.jpg" width="177" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:0;"></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Antonio (TJ)</span><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/Antonio.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/Antonio.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/104-0488_STA.jpg"><span style="font-size:0;"></span></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/104-0421_IMG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/104-0421_IMG.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/101-0168_IMG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/101-0168_IMG.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Balla, Carlos, and Sherrie<br /></span><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/101-0165_IMG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/101-0165_IMG.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:0;"></span><br /><br /><p></p><p></p><p></p>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1142892914562298162006-03-20T16:57:00.000-05:002006-04-28T18:32:32.543-04:00Why The Schools?!!!!!<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/janey.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/200/janey.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/blog%20pic1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/blog%20pic1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#ffffff;">By LaKeisha McKinley</span><br /><br />Janey (DC Public School superintendent) is recommending that the District close an estimated 30 schools by August 2008. After many hearings and conferences that took place this year and last, it was stated that the understaffed, unsanitary detention center for youth of DC (Oak Hill) would take five years to be shut down and replaced with small centers used to rehabilitate youth. In contrast, the article <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/18/AR2006031801264.html">Among D.C. Parents, Anxiety Over School Closings</a><br />stated that it should only take about 2 years to close down 30 of the District's educational facilities.<br /><br />It seems that our government and our superintendent are trying to take the easy way out of fixing this problem. The schools that they are focusing on closing are being chosen simply because of low student enrollment. Some experts as stated in the article stated that buildings with low enrollment can be better utilized because they are smaller in population.<br /><br />An interviewee of the topic (Jonathan from the Youth Education Alliance) stated that he feels that school closings can be<br /></span></span></span></span></span><ul style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-style: italic;"><li>ugly<br /></li><li>dangerous to the DC Public School system(because it will make charter and private schools seem better equipped to educate youth)<br /></li><li>also it highlights the inequalities between different schools in the District</li></ul><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">He also felt that</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 204, 0);"> both William Lockridge's and Janey's idea were dangerous because, it could led to </span><ul><li style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-style: italic;">population problems as far as over crowding</li><li style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-style: italic;">overcrowded classrooms(meaning that their won't be enough teachers to teach or space as time passes.)<br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-style: italic;">teachers will get fired(because of not having enough space)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-style: italic;">colocation (when they have more than one school in a building)<br /></span></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 204, 0); font-style: italic;">In his opinion the kids would react with a lot of them being upset and some being happy. Some of the things that he thought could be caused by this were<br /></span><br /><ul><li style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-style: italic;">Developers wanting to buy the property and use it for thier own purposes<br /></li><li style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-style: italic;">The community will speak out against it<br /></li><li style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">It will push <a href="http://www.paulcharter.org/welcome.asp">charter schools </a>more in the city</span></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 204, 0); font-style: italic;">Janey</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">is throwing out lot of bold ideas for someone who still hasn't gotten all of the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/06/AR2005100602264.html">special education students</a> there books yet, but he is still raising the standards as far as what he expects of students. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/kids.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/kids.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Our city has a lot of schools that have the potential of being quality education facilities, but because of not having enough money to fund the programs and materials for the youth, and because of the new program Janey has brought to the city saying that if you feel your childs school can't teach them properly to send them somewhere else. Because of this schools in certain areas have had an enrollment decrease when in all actuality a big part of the reason they can't teach properly because of the shortage in <a href="http://http://www.dcist.com/archives/2004/09/13/dc_public_schools_on_the_web.php">materials</a> and teachers. Instead of closing educational facilities they need to keep them open and give them what they need to make the situation better.<br /><br />There are a lot of things that the schoolboard and government are changing right before our communities eyes, but unless we pay attention and say something as the people who these changes will affect; we'll become victims of of being excluded from the city of which we live in.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);"></span></span>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1141861502296492662006-03-17T12:26:00.000-05:002006-03-17T12:43:29.106-05:00bell high school<span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">NEW MEMBER POST #3</span><br /><br />Bell, Bell, Bell, everything about Bell is so annoying, it makes me so mad that they show favoritism towards some students. Just last week this girl moved to the front of the room, even though she is supposed to sit in the back and she didn't get in trouble. But then, when two other boys moved to seats they also were not supposed be in the teacher said really quickly, "Move back to your seat!" I don't like the fact that every class has a seating chart, and if something happens to a student's desk then that person will get blamed, so we brought it to his attention and we just got in trouble . This makes me not want to even care.....<br /><br /><span style="color:#33ffff;"><br /><span style="color:#99ffff;">By Michell, Age 17</span></span>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1141862183899624192006-03-14T14:16:00.000-05:002006-03-14T14:18:39.436-05:00why I am trying to be in YARG<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">NEW MEMBER POST #2</span><br /><br />My name is Doz3y and I am very happy to be a part of the YARG family. When I first heard about YARG I thought that it was going to be a good thing for me to get involed with. Yes, this is going to change my life I thought, and I see that it has. We meet every second Wednesday, so you know that's the only day of the week that I truely like. I know that this is going to be an inspiration for my life. I can see that I am going to get a lot from this. If you like to have fun you should come to YARG.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">by Doz3y, age 17</span>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1141944457143901672006-03-13T13:10:00.000-05:002006-03-13T17:44:54.063-05:00Our New MembersThe Youth Action Research Group has been successful in recruiting 11 new members! The new members have been busy working on posts to put on the blog. The new recruited members show us that youth want to organize for social change, and not just get into trouble like some people think.<br /><br />Here's a preview of what one of our new members had to say about the <a href="http://yargdc.blogspot.com/2006/03/yarg-stands-against-immigrant.html">rally</a> we went to last week:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">NEW MEMBER POST #1</span><br />"Well Yesterday, March 7,2006 was the Rally and even though I couldn't go I support fully what the rally was about because I believe that the government shouldn't discriminate against<br />immigrants."<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">Melissa Rivera, Age 18<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Stay tuned, we will be having more new member posts all this week...</span><br /></span>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1141942824516234232006-03-09T16:22:00.001-05:002006-03-09T18:03:14.873-05:00YARG Stands Against Immigrant Discrimination<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/102-0202_IMG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/102-0202_IMG.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><br />By Jose Andrade, Age 19</span><br /><br />It's sometimes hard to believe that a country<br />which was founded by immigrants, has lawmakers that continually put forth discriminatory laws that are created to constrict future immigrants freedom. Then again this is America, a country that finds it more important to investigate a presidential sexual affair than the rising actions that would bring forth the great act of inhumanity that took place during the Rwandan genocide.<br /><br />I'm not surprised that a Bill like <a href="http://www.ilrc.org/HR4437.html">HR4437 </a>would make it to the Senate. Back in 1882 when the <a href="http://sun.menloschool.org/%7Embrody/ushistory/angel/exclusion_act/">Chinese Exclusion Act </a>was passed, Chinese immigrants were not allowed to enter the United States for nearly thirty years. In my opinion, this really captures the attitudes America has toward it's non Anglo-Saxon visitors.<br /><br />On March 7, 2006 an estimated 20,000 immigrants and citizens of all shades joined together in a rally to show that they will not tolerate harsh/discriminatory immigration laws. The rally was organized primarily by the National Capital Immigration Coalition, with organizational members from the Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC area, and with the help of local organizations to publicize the rally like Neighbor's Consejo, Bell Multicultural High School, and YARG.<br /><br />The rally was monumental; it captured the power of organizing. I was really impressed by the dedication people took to put together this event to support the immigrant community in America.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/101-0175_IMG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/101-0175_IMG.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">(Jose Andrade, Local Youth Organizer for YARG helps Bell Student Carolina put on a YARG solidarity armband)</span><br /><br />Though, I'm happy that this rally came to be, I'm saddened because I feel like it's going to be necessary to organize other rallys because of America's recent attitudes toward immigrants.<br /><br />I think that people that want these laws to pass like the Minutemen need to see the contribution that immigrants have given to this country's economy. <strong>I don't understand how is it that the Minutemen argue that immigrants are taking their jobs when all they do day long is harass people. </strong>Talk about having time in their hands.<br /><strong></strong>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1138920626961723292006-02-22T13:25:00.000-05:002006-03-09T17:42:40.230-05:00Rwanda: GenocideThe Western World Ignored<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/rwanda-genocide300.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/rwanda-genocide300.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">By Jose Andrade, Age 19</span><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>A few weeks ago, I watched a movie called Hotel Rwanda for my social ethics class. The movie is based on the massive genocide in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Rwanda</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<br /><p class="MsoNormal">The genocide was the result of cultural tension between the majority Hutus and the minority Tutsis.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The genocide happened in April 1994 and in the span of 3 months 800,000 Tutsis were eliminated. </p><p class="MsoNormal">After watching the movie I was really pissed off and upset that the Western super-powers, again, did nothing to stop the violence in foreign lands.<br /><br />I can't believe that America and all of <st1:place>Europe</st1:place> and the U.N decided not to intervene in the chaos.<br /><br />It makes me furious to know that I live in a world where there are heartless politicians that ignore the suffering of people and children.<br /><br />It's even more disturbing that the Western powers only intervene to help the citizens (mostly white) out of the danger. I don’t understand the inhumane ways of the Western World. </p><p class="MsoNormal">I'm writing this piece because I want people to remember the ones lost in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Rwanda</st1:place></st1:country-region> and next time, in the future (or even now in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region>), the world will lend an ear to hear the suffering and that way something can be done. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:0;">800,000 Eternal, Until the </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size:0;">Bell</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size:0;"> Ring. - For the Victims, I’m sorry the world didn’t hear your cries.. <span style="font-size:0;"></span><span style="font-size:0;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1139348583652159952006-02-07T16:20:00.000-05:002006-02-08T15:36:08.776-05:00Are They Related ll ?<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/naomi%20campbell.4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/400/naomi%20campbell.2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/Aqiyla.1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/Aqiyla.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/TROLL.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 148px; height: 193px;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/TROLL.0.jpg" border="0" height="239" width="195" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/USHER.2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/USHER.2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />YARG Staff member Aqiyla and ... Naomi Campbell?<br />Syke, just kidding about that one<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/RICK%20JAMES.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/RICK%20JAMES.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/EVE.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/EVE.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Usher and... the Troll<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Eve and ... Rick James?Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1139251268122722012006-02-06T13:27:00.000-05:002006-04-28T18:34:02.120-04:00DC School Moderinization Campaign<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/101-0155_IMG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/101-0155_IMG.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/101-0152_IMG.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/101-0152_IMG.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">By Denisse Rodriguez</span><br /><br />Hey what's up this is Denisse. I haven't been around in a while, but I'm back.<br /><br />First of all, I would like to congratulate the Youth Education Alliance, DC students, parents, and teachers for the wonderful job of organizing the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/04/AR2006020401008.html">rally </a>for the DC School Moderinization Campaign!<br /><br />For those who haven't heard of it, there was a rally in support of full funding for DCPS last Friday the 3rd. The Youth Education Alliance, also known as YEA, is a youth led organization that focuses on the improvements of the conditions and services of DCPS.<br /><br />The reason why I'm so happy for them is because they're one of our (YARG's) allies, and it's good to know that we all, in some way, are making changes for the better of our city. It's really important for our city to know our priorities. It should be the funding for better schools in the Nation's Capital, not the funding for silly old baseball in the Nation's Capital.<br /><br />For the baseball fans in support of the stadium, you have to understand where I'm coming from. I come from a Dominican family that loves baseball, but what makes more sense? The future of baseball in D.C. or the future of our kids in D.C.?Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1139002889044100332006-02-03T16:37:00.000-05:002006-04-28T18:43:06.943-04:00Whos Snitchin<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/sign.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/sign.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">By LaKeisha McKinley</span><br /> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><u><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></u></b><span style=""><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style=""><span style="">All over, people are beginning to wear Stop Snitching<span style=""> </span>Shirts.<span style=""> </span>Most would think of it to be nothing but it is really bothering police officers and other city officials.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="">In this city verbalizing what you see has become a no no. Meaning that people don't trust the system and they feel like it would be a betrayal to the community. What has happened is that police officers of the inner city area have made themselves untrustworthy by being dirty cops and treating the lower class less than human. In todays society it is looked down upon to even speak to a police officer.<br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="">Snitchin is defined many ways by different people. It is a word that can be very argumentative. Lots of people use snitching as a way of pay back to someone they dislike, or they use it as a get out of jail free card. A person who does this is the most identifiable snitch. A person who snitches is despised because the people around them feel betrayed by one of their own people.<br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="">Lots of people think it's wrong to withhold information from the police, especially if it could help an investigation. Others may argue that, especially a person who was raised that it is wrong to do such a thing.<br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="">Mothers of children may say that they want the person who saw their child get killed to say something. Then on the other hand the mother of the child who is accused of the crime may feel totally different about the situation. So either way you look at it the person with the information is at risk, if they tell, socially, physically, and mentally. Snitchin is assesed by each individual situation.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="">These shirts have opened a door and a reason for police to say something to inner city kids of the hip hop culture. These shirts just state freedom of expression which the constitution is supposed to protect.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">In all actuality, these are just words which state an opinion and they are being given to much credit for the crimes being committed in the area.</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Some police officers are using this fashion statement as a crutch and a reason to harass youth.</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> This problem is highlighted in the bay area but is happening in the inner city of Washington DC.</span></span></span></span><b style=""><i style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1138399668226652142006-01-27T17:07:00.000-05:002006-04-28T18:25:57.633-04:00Who Says DC Doesn't Have Talent<span style="color:#00cccc;">By LaKeisha McKinley</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:arial;">In the </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="">USA</span></st1:place></st1:country-region></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> there are artists who come from all over the country.<span style=""> </span>But it seems that not that many artist come from </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><st1:place><st1:city><span style="">Washington</span></st1:city><span style=""> </span><st1:state><span style="">DC</span></st1:state></st1:place></span><span style=""><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">.</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">For out side eyes looking in it would seem that DC is low on talent.</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">It is actually quite the opposite there are artist such as Chris Stylez, the group BOK, the Squad, and the Faculty.</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Not to mention the go go bands that we have to represent our culture such as the Drama Squad, Uncalled 4, TCB, MOB, and Rare Essence.</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">So for all of the talent scouts DC is the place to be!</span> <o:p></o:p></span></p>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18059855.post-1137628945574421812006-01-25T15:17:00.000-05:002006-02-07T17:02:50.546-05:00On Ideals, Politics and then. . . Contradictions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/1600/George%20washington%20standing%20up.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/167/1758/320/George%20washington%20standing%20up.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><b>de·moc·ra·cy</b> : <o:p></o:p><i>n.</i> <i>pl.</i> <b>de·moc·ra·cies</b><o:p></o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">1) Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">2) A political or social unit that has such a government.<br />The common people, considered as the primary source of political power.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">3)Majority rule.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">4)The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">The <st1:country-region><st1:place>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> was founded on noble ideals and beliefs, those ideals of course coming from the <a href="http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/decind.html">Declaration of Independence </a>(Life, <st1:city><st1:place>Liberty</st1:place></st1:city> and the Pursuit of Happiness, among other ideals).<br /><br />Ironically, the country did not equally share the rights associated with those ideals among its citizens. People of color were seen as inadequate to house those ideals, which were found prevalent among white people. So we can see that the new country promised so many good things for its citizens but failed.<br /><br />These rights were deprived from blacks. Obviously it is evidence enough that THEY WERE ENSLAVED. Blacks could not live LIFE and have <st1:city><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place>LIBERTY</st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city> and be in PURSUIT OF<br />HAPPINESS. These actions are hypocritical.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://www.afrolumens.org/slavery/images/12years.jpg">Black children were sold into slavery </a>before they reached puberty. These actions again show the contradictions and hypocrisy of a nation that was founded on the ideals of freedom and equality.<br /><br />The point I'm trying to make is simple. I want people to notice how a certain people who advocated for wonderful rights and were passionate about <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/">philosophic ideals </a>were so bold in not sharing those same ideals with other humans.<br /><br />This is deeper than just people enslaving other people, it's about the <a href="http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/ethics.htm">ethics and values </a>of a people who were unwilling to promote peace and equality with people other than themselves. The question that remains is do the values and morals of slave masters still exist and if they do to what extent have they evolved?<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I don’t want you think that I'm just pointing fingers, but I mean to point out that white <st1:country-region><st1:place><st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region> has not been living up to its ideals.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">I tend to like democracy but I’m afraid that the descendants of the people who brought democracy to this hemisphere aren't acting accordingly to the ideals of their ancestors. That idea scares me!<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">We don’t need to look too far into history to see all the contradictions. <a href="http://alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/wallace/seg.home.html">Segregation</a>, <a href="http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/">Jim Crow</a>, <a href="http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/toc.html">American Imperialism</a> are all hypocrisies to the American ideals. More recently, the need for the <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html">Civil Rights Movement</a> to give people of color the fundamentals of democracy will always be a bloody stain in American democracy. Let's not forget that the <a href="http://www.core-online.org/history/voting_rights.htm">Voting Rights Act of 1965</a> was only passed by Congress four decades ago. <b>Voting is the backbone for any democracy. <u1:p></u1:p></b><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">We can see that there's a behavior likeness with American politicians.<a href="http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/toc.html"> American Imperialism</a> of the early 20<sup>th</sup> century giving birth to the <a href="http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/remember.html">Spanish-American War</a> escalated by Theodore Roosevelt and his practice of using an African saying "Speak softly, and carry a big stick" which later would be known by historians as "big-stick diplomacy." <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">When my history teacher told me that “history certainly doesn’t repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme” I now realize what he meant.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">Comments made by <a href="http://reid.senate.gov/">Democratic leader Harry Reid</a> calling the <a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=%5CPolitics%5Carchive%5C200601%5CPOL20060119a.html">Republican-led</a> Congress <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10507328/">"the most corrupt in history"</a> don’t make me feel any better about America living up to those ideals.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">The importance of such a statement can’t be undermined, because it’s coming from within the symbol of democracy that <a href="http://www.pbs.org/capitolfourth/lenfant.html">Pierre L’ Enfant</a> architecturally created and intended to be the Capitol building. This building is the symbol of American democracy. To have a Senator say such a statement really rallies the question, is <st1:country-region><st1:place><st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region></st1:place></st1:country-region> still, or has it even ever been, a democracy?<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">By Jose Andrade, 19<br />Special thanks to my history teacher Mr. Hunt for helping me edit this post</span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><u1:p></u1:p><o:p> </o:p></p> <u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><st1:place><st1:city><st1:place><st1:city></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city></st1:place>Youth Action Research Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16576077452069988514noreply@blogger.com2