Boys and Girls Club Nonviolence Training

My specialty is not kids. Usually speaking, for all that I may be complimented with certain moments of positive interaction between myself and those of a single digit age, I do not engage by choice. However on Friday, despite my inner anxieties, it was a delightful process to interact with the twenty young people and see how I and the other facilitators there handled the situation. To an extent, we were short changed due to some unforeseen complications to the point that most of us did not get to engage the youth with our activities. From a retrospective point, I would have said yes, huzzah I have escaped. However, after having stepped into the positive energy of the space and seeing the warmed up youth it did make me feel saddened that we were not able to interact with them through our principles of Nonviolence activities.


For future reference, I can and will refer to this experience as a jumping off point of practical experience in order to help me focus my thoughts when designing materials but also what to hypothetically expect from a room full of youth. I have to keep in mind that they are a group of brilliant minded developing people and they are only as intimidating as I allow myself to think that they are.


Isaiah Jones

Have you ever had a million thoughts flying around in your head at one time but since so much is going on you don’t have time to sort through them so you have to just…focus? We were in a room full of children that probably scarcely see stability, rarely get to speak, and hardly ever get listened to, and we are supposed to teach them. Sometimes I get nervous to do workshops for young people. I imagine myself in their shoes and think about what I look like to them. Someone interrupting their daily routine to try and convince them to be peaceful. What if they are surrounded by violence and my attempt to shine some type of light is looked at as a pitiful attempt at fixing something they’re used to being forced to give up on? I’m looking at these kids as they look at me like “what can you possibly teach me that I can use?” it’s a sink or swim type of thing. Either you jump in without fear or they will eat you alive. Children sense fear; they can tell when things are genuine and they can tell when you’re there because you have to be. I refused to be eaten alive. I looked at them as if they were my own little brothers and sisters.  I imagined that my own little brother was in the room asking me how to cope with his father ignoring his cries for help. Asking me what to do when he wants to scream back at his mother. When he asks why he shouldn’t fight the boy who picks on him in class, and I begin the exercise. I remember that there’s no need to be afraid that they reject our advice because as a kid, all you really want is someone to talk to. An adult to take you seriously. With every event we do I gain more and more experience with things like maintaining attention, how much is too much animation, or how to calm down the crowd. It felt good to be there. To see the kids raising their hands to answer questions and watch them pay attention to the other interns. It was frustrating to be put out of the room before we could finish the workshop. Especially by the Tulane students who rudely rushed us out of the room to teach a dance class that was clearly put on for service hours instead of a genuine interest. But I refused to let that keep my spirit down. So when the kids asked the question that all the kids end up asking at the end, “will you be back next week?” – I said yes. I can’t sit here complaining that the other people that are there don’t really care and then in turn don’t come back. So I asked Mr. Guy if I can come back on my own to do creative writing workshops. With his okay I came back the next week and had my first session with the kids. We sat in the room for an hour and a half and discussed the lyrics to Tupac’s song Dear Mama and talked about the ways they personally relate to the lyrics. By the end of my workshop one of the kids told me “this is what we need man, a place to just let go.” Those words made it all worth it.

Asia-Vinae Palmer

Follow the link for more pictures at the Boys and Girls Club 

The Cultural Organizing Workshop

We all sat in a circle and as time went forward and energy was collectively put into the room, power swirled in the center and around and around and around from, through, between and across all those present in the spaces opened for critical conversations among all the persons present. Culture became more than a singular word. It was and is a multifaceted entity. It is everything because it is created by the fact that we exist and interact with each other.

While at the workshop I learned a greater appreciation for the people doing the work but at the same time a deeper appreciation towards those who are just beginning to enter or have not even jumped in yet. As it stands, the present body of members making up the experience was relatively diverse, coming from a collection of intersecting realities as well as ones that were unique to individuals. As an older youth I could feel the strange balancing act between being young in the space and yet getting closer to an age and level of experience that will one day phase me out of that position. However this pushing and pulling of perspective showed me more intently the importance of making spaces, like this one and within the work of all the organizations present and not present, inter-generational with a greater emphasis on youth. Sadly we of AFSC were the only ones there. And though I am grateful to have attended, it would have been great to see and interact with others close to our age.

Overall, it was a powerful event and I look forward to growing and keeping in mind the things that I learned and putting them into practice both in the work that I do with AFSC and in general life as well.


Isaiah Jones

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB

Briana O'Neal

 BOYS & GIRLS CLUB  

The Boys & Girls Club training went well despite the challenges. We had 20 kids,  4 AFSC interns & Ahmane’. We came in with a positive attitude. Some of the kids were a bit slow to join in but when they did get into it then it felt like a party! Those kids were so smart. They knew what nonviolence was and ways to be nonviolent. We went through our agenda smoothly and confidently. Our confidence made the kids feel like they could trust the process and roll with us. In the middle of our training we had to readjust to different timing issues.  We were flexible and made the adjustments to efficiently end our workshop.

We made sure that the kids understood what they were being taught so that they could teach others. The kid’s energy was great the whole time, they participated in every activity. They had very good attitudes towards us. The kids kept on asking us when we were coming back. They wanted us to come every Friday. It warmed my heart to know that the kids learned a lot and wanted to keep on learning about nonviolence with us. Just when we were about to leave all of the kids ran up to us wanting to gives us huge hugs. I can’t wait until we go back because they were one of our best groups.      

Cultural Organizing Workshop

                                                 

AFSC worked with The Arts& Democracy Project, Junebug Productions, Highlander and the Urban Bush Women among other local organizations to organize the Cultural Organizing Weekend in NOLA. The purpose of the Cultural Organizing Weekend in NOLA was to bring together various artists and organizers to discuss, share and teach different tools used in cultural organizing in our communities. The event was held from Fri. Feb. 22-24, 2013  at Golden Feather, Zeitgeist and Ashe' Cultural Arts Center. Two AFSC interns were on the panel on Friday night that discussed the role of cultural organizing in organizations. Each AFSC intern participated as responders, giving their opinion to the organizational presentations. Below are reflections from our interns on the event.

 Breial M. Kennedy Reflections

              
      Reflecting back on the Cultural Organizing Training, I’d say it was a real eye opener. I had an opportunity to be a youth representative on the panel and I feel pretty good about it. I feel that I’ve at least scratched the surface on what it truly means to be a relevant cultural organizer in 2013. Something I think will stick with me is the relationship between the different organizations and importance of acceptance and understanding.

                                                    
  Austin Smith Reflections

                I will appreciate the experience I gained attending the Cultural Organizing Workshop last week. It gave me a sense of what each organizations focus was on bringing change within the community. Being at the workshop makes you feel welcomed to help out and follow the beliefs of one of the organizations. I personally enjoyed the open conversations that were had between each person explaining the organization they represented. Everyone has their opinion and it is important that each one is valued. Speaking from a youth’s perspective, I feel we play a key part in the expansion of these organizations. These issues start at home and within those homes are parents and children. They are the people that these organizations should be more socially orientated with. Over all it was a great opportunity and I’m glad I was part of it.

Briana O'Neal Reflections
                                                           

Day 1: Friday night 2-22-13. We started downstairs at the Golden Feather with a meet and greet while people were still signing in for the workshop. We had a delicious dinner of salad, fried chicken, rice, & sweet tea. Next we moved upstairs where everyone sat in a circle and Ms. Wendi O’Neal started to sing a song to signal that we were starting the workshop. We went around the circle introducing ourselves. After that, we used the story circle process to talk about what cultural organizing was to us. I love the fact that there was representation from the older generation and the younger generation in the same room and there wasn’t conflict.

We spent the rest of our time that night talking about the way that our organizations used cultural organizing in our work and explaining the work that have we done so far. I felt there were a lot of stories that came up to show that there were many ways to use cultural organizing. We have so many different cultures just in New Orleans alone.

I liked how Breial and Austin, two AFSC interns, spoke on the cultural organizing discussion panel.  I was also happy to see that the oldest lady in the room not only listened to them but she also took notes because she felt like she could learn from what a young person had to say. I don’t know where else but in these types of settings could you see an older person willing to learn from today’s youth. I only wish more people outside of these organizations, from the general public, would attend these workshops because I think it would decrease some of the problems we have in the city.  

Day 2: Saturday 2-23-13. The day got off to a slow start. Once again we started with a song to bring everyone together so that we could start. We went around our group circle and introduced ourselves because there were some new people in the room. We were asked to answer the question. Why are you here? I replied “while I greatly appreciate and respect history, we can’t be afraid of change and we have to find new ways to create cultural organizing in the community so that we can bridge the gap between history and the future.”

Next we did an activity where a list of questions were read to the group and we had to move to the right if we strongly agreed, to the left if we strongly disagreed and to the middle if we were undecided. This activity really helped me to see the values of the people in the room with me.

After lunch we went to the smaller workshops we had chosen earlier that day. I picked The Urban Bush Women Workshop which used dance and movement as a cultural organizing tool. I learned how to use my body and eyes to communicate with others. I also learned how to build off of each other’s work to make something much bigger and better than before. We closed out the day with a report back of things we had done in the smaller workshops to the bigger group and more singing.


  Asia-Vinae Palmer Reflections

Culture: The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.

            On February 21, 2013 I wasn’t sure what culture meant. Of course I had this general idea or understanding that it was something to be proud of…soul food…salsa dancing. But I never attempted to define it. I never thought of it from day to day as if it were a part of my daily life or something that affects the way I act. I didn’t realize that culture is everything from the food my parents cook to my neighbor’s language to my daily swag. Culture is everything around us and “us” varies from one group of people to the next according to race, gender, neighborhood, etc. The Cultural Organizing Workshop on February 22^nd made me think about the kind of difference I’m making and if I am doing all I can. Until the workshop, I hadn’t taken the time to sit back and reflect on everything I’ve been doing for the community and then critically analyze myself. The workshop administrators had us all do interactive exercises to get our brains thinking. One exercise I enjoyed was when we all had to stand up and answer questions by moving from one side of the room which was strongly agree to the other which was strongly disagree, and middle being neutral. We were then asked questions on how much we involve culture with our work or daily lives. I was surprised to find myself on the strongly agree for most of the questions. As an artist, poet, and all around creative person, I unconsciously have already been using cultural organizing in my work. I felt proud to be able to stand next to men and women who’ve been doing the same work for so many years and be able to say that I too have been making a difference. It was very humbling, and made me want to try even harder. Throughout the two days I was learning how to embrace culture and then use it to make a difference. And this time, I can do it and know what I was doing. For a moment during the workshop I had a few mixed feelings toward my observations of other people’s answers to questions. It occurred to me that although people were all saying ways to change the community, no one mentioned children or how to get them involved. I always have the idea that children are the future in the back of my head and believe that the only way to ensure true change is to educate our youth of our plans so that once they are capable of taking over they won’t have to start from the bottom. But then I just sat back and observed the room full of the different organizations that all offered something different and then back at my own organization, and I understood the point. We are all here to get closer and closer to a better community and then a better world. It was okay that everyone didn’t work with children because we did. If everyone focused on the same field then it would be like if ten people were looking for something in one room versus spreading out throughout the entire house. Someone is focused on changing the education system, someone is fixing the neighborhood the school is in, and someone is working on the mentality of the youth, and together we can make a mass move. When the workshop came to a close I had a totally different outlook on the world around me and I felt ready to take on whatever challenge would jump out soon.

Just too briefly discuss my experiences at Sampson Park; I’d say it was a real “eye-opener.” To assist in promoting nonviolence was a privilege but our community has work to do. I observed children depreciate their area and there was no one telling them otherwise. The level of disrespect is high. Our role in the Super Bowl event on this past Saturday was to offer peace education through the arts. So AFSC set up an area where we would first explain to the youth what both peace and conflict were. Following the discussion, we helped them to express what peace meant to them through painting t-shirts. A lot of the kids were in competition, telling one another that their shirts weren’t as good as theirs. This discouragement caused conflict. I also witnessed some of the youth write the names of their “hoods” on the backs of their t-shirts. Instant segregation. As AFSC Interns, I’d say, me and the other interns tried our very best to create a environment for everyone to come and express themselves.

I remember one young girl asking if she could make a shirt for her mother because there was another girl next to her making a t-shirt with help from her mother. Unfortunately, we were unable to give her another shirt because we were backed up with other youth who still needed shirts. But before we could express that to her, one of the girls she came with said “I don’t know why you making her one cause it’s not like she coming out here to get it and if you bring it home it’s not like she’s gonna wear it.” The look on this young girls face struck me. I could only imagine the feeling of watching someone else’s great relationship with their parents and not having developed one with my own. Support from the parents, I believe, would have made all the difference on Saturday.

-B. Kennedy

A day at Sampson Park

I left our day at the park feeling like I made a difference. Since this was my first event with AFSC, I wasn’t sure what to expect from not only the 9^th Ward, but the kids we were supposed to be reaching out to. I had never been to that part of New Orleans, so I was shocked to see how deserted the area still was although Katrina passed years ago. It pained me to find out that broken glass, trash, and bullet casings around the park were what the kids were used to. I was a little intimidated by my lack of “street experience” and wasn’t sure what I could possible teach them. Once things started, I was reminded that no matter how chaotic their surroundings were, they were still kids. I didn’t know how natural talking to them was going to be until halfway through the workshop. They were more attentive than I expected and it felt good to see them listening to our list of peaceful tactics to deal with their anger. I enjoyed helping them make their Peace T-Shirts and look forward to the next event

Asia-Vinae Palmer

My experience at Samson Park was typical. I deal with many events where the environment is the way it was there. I originally thought the turnout would be bad. I’m glad a lot of  kids showed up but I feel that the message wasn’t getting across to them. They were more focused on other things and starting conflict amongst themselves. Most of the kids there were positive and had a good attitude, others not so much. The next time we do an event such as this one I know we’ll have better ways of pushing the point of us coming. 

Austin Smith              

Pictures from the glorious day