Eerie language in Federally funded La Raza Group
http://lideres.nclr.org/articles/detail/940.html
The fifth and final category is the youth organizing model, which features youth engaging in efforts to bring about systemic change. Youth organizing is a model that trains young people in direct action community organizing in order to alter power relationships and generate institutional community change. Young people organize themselves to define issues, recruit members and/or supporters, work with other organizations, build coalitions, create solutions, and implement and evaluate those efforts. This model directly attacks the normal hierarchy and boundaries of power relationships by raising the social and political status of young people to that of mature adults. In dealing with the challenges that many young people and their communities, youth study their communities face, interact with others having common situations, build relationships and a membership base, create a governing body, and engage in action leading to a better community while also feeling empowered themselves.
Latinos Unidos Siempre (LUS), a student organization based in Salem, Oregon and a member of the NCLR LĂ*deres Network, is a strong example of how youth organizing models can be effective for some communities. LUS provides two kinds of activities. First, in collaboration with local school districts, it offers youth-structured services, such as tutoring or mentoring. Second, it works as an activist group within the community using a youth organizing model to specifically provide youth with the education and tools to accomplish social change. For example, LUS identified two major issues to be addressed- ageism and racism- when the local police department wrote and published a manual for the school system on gang intervention with unfair stereotypes of both youth and Latinos. LUS worked with youth organizers to dissect this issue and see why the stereotypes were created. At the same time, they studied how the school board functioned and how youth could fight ageism to infiltrate and have a say in the power structure. Then the youth gained support from sister organizations working either for youth or people of color, and from other youth who were participating in the tutoring programs. Finally, the collaborative effort was successful and the manual was discarded. [b]For LUS, this process- youth gaining the power to identify problems, dissect the big picture, analyze stereotypes, build partnerships with other organizations (ACLU, NAACP, unions, religious groups, universities, MEChA chapters), and finally improve and educate the community by helping them understand issues of concern- has been successful with not only local issues, but also state and federal legislation such as anti-immigrant laws, the “DREAM Actâ€
Re: Eerie language in Federally funded La Raza Group
Quote:
Originally Posted by millere
ACLU,
When I see ACLU in big letters like that my mind sees the Soviet hammer and sickle flag.