#fmfp2015

What’s that you say? TeenBloc is on the west coast? As a matter of fact, that is correct. From July 8th to the 13th, TeenBloc traveled to Oakland, California for the Free Minds Free People Conference. The conference took place at Laney College and was chock full of activists of all ages and ethnicities, people devoted to the idea of equity and not just equality, engaging with these issues in the judicial and education systems.

We partnered with other organizing groups from Pittsburgh and presented a workshop from 11:30am to 1:00pm July 10th entitled “Not NY, LA or the Bay:Lessons from Emerging Education Justice Fights in Pittsburgh”. The workshop was a chance for organizers and activist of Pittsburgh to strut their stuff, share challenges and exchange lessons from leader to leader.

Admittedly, I was nervous for my fellow TeenBloc members. The practice session which included us and the groups we were collaborating with, had several hiccups. Matching the time allotted per slide of the presentation with the speaker’s voice seemed to be harder than I thought. Several times when the speaker was addressing info on a slide it randomly changed. Not a big deal, but it could really throw folks off .

When it was game time, everyone stepped up to the plate, putting on for Pittsburgh youth organizing as a whole. TeenBloc and its partner organizations were a part of a panel after the presentations which initiated an emotional response. When the question “What advice would you give to someone who does this work” came up, I heard several  well thought answers. But the last answer really resonated within me. When Ms. Pam, executive director of TeenBloc, answered the question, my eyes started to water at the swell of emotion in her voice. Her answer was simple, “Love". She explained how her passion for what she does comes from love:  for the people she works with, the kids she advocates for, and love for the black community.

Free Minds, Free People Recap Pt. 2: Back In Action by Maurice Adams

After a five day trip to the west coast, TeenBloc is back in Pittsburgh and it is pretty safe to say we hit the ground running. Landing in Pittsburgh at 6:30am and being back in the office by 10:00am, there is no rest for the weary. The Free Minds Free People conference in Oakland, California has equipped TeenBloc with new information and connections. Engaging in intensive workshops and meeting with activists individually has us eager to attack the inequity in Pittsburgh Public Schools head on!

Darrick Smith was a speaker in whom I took an immediate interest. His workshop entitled “This don’t feel like social justice!”: Hypocrisy, Disconnect and Discipline in Social Justice, was a very engaging dialogue that explored tangible strategies and principles that help educators create safe and humanizing educational space. Smith shared his personal experiences which at some points could be very graphic. . It was then that I could actually view black youth like myself through the lens of an educator. Or at least one that I felt didn’t try to assume they understood my life from a complete misconception. He spoke his own truth passionately and I could see it. He was a great example of the passion that is needed to make a difference in this line of work. To make a difference in our schools we must act with the same passion as Smith. The same love as Ms. Pam. We need to humanize every student in a secular way. Building actual teacher to student relationship. Paying attention to their needs, treating them like people and not problems.

We have swiftly reached the halfway point of the summer internship. I think I can speak for all of TeenBloc when I say the past four weeks have been a blur. From planning base-building events while simultaneously creating materials, curriculum to scheduling beta sessions to test the curriculum,  it is no wonder why the past four weeks has felt like two. Even though our plates have been full, we have marched steadily forward. With the first beta session scheduled for Friday, July 17th we scrambled together all the needed materials to have a successful session. Upon completion of the session we received very good survey responses with a sizable amount of people willing to take part in future workshops.

The past few days have been very cluttered with  ironing out the wrinkles in the curriculum that would be presented at the workshops and checking in with other interns to make sure we all have what we need to be successful at completing individual goals, all the while finding venues for the upcoming events. It is not hard to become overwhelmed with work.

Even when the workload is high, seeing the outcome of your hard work makes everything worth it. I’m certain that when the internship is over and the eight weeks have zoomed by, I will miss the long work days with my friends. The lunch breaks, walking through the sunny neighborhood looking for food that isn’t  too unhealthy, the early mornings which turned into afternoon hangout sessions. Even the job threatening deadlines which forced me to buckle down and push out blog upon blog.