YOUTH, HONORING THE PAST AND BUILDING MOVEMENTS FOR CHANGE

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Rudolph Arnold
5 years ago
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1 CHICAGO FREEDOM SCHOOL 2017 YEAR IN REVIEW celebrating ten years of EMPOWERING YOUTH, HONORING THE PAST AND BUILDING MOVEMENTS FOR CHANGE

Building the next generation of YOUNG SOCIAL JUSTICE LEADERS I learned how to talk to people as a group rather than just individuals and I can use that to talk to audiences about topics that I ve

2 Building the next generation of YOUNG SOCIAL JUSTICE LEADERS I learned how to talk to people as a group rather than just individuals and I can use that to talk to audiences about topics that I ve learned and education them on things I m passionate about Freedom Fellow freedom fellowship In 2017, 20 young people of color ages spent 6 months... STRENGTHENING community organizing skills TAKING ACTION on environmental justice, education, and healthy communities STUDYING movement history and current social issues BUILDING community "I learned how to organize. I will apply those skills at school while I attempt to erect change." Fellow 100% 90% 70% believe youth can work together to bring change believe they can make change in their neighborhood vs. 55% pre-fellowship have the skills to build a coalition around issues that matter of them vs. 41% pre-fellowship

"[I learned] hella skills! How to be an ally to queer folks...organizing in general. Sharing/having power. Expressing yourself through art. Hosting peace circles and so much more.

justice in the Austin neighborhood because two of our cohort members live there.

The EJ cohort will partner with PCC Wellness to distribute 100 seed bombs to local residents and share information about the seed bombs and how they can make their own.

3 "[I learned] hella skills! How to be an ally to queer folks...organizing in general. Sharing/having power. Expressing yourself through art. Hosting peace circles and so much more." Fellow Fall Youth-led Action Campaigns Environmental Justice - The 2017 Environmental Justice cohort campaign is to create awareness and community building around issues of environmental justice in the Austin neighborhood because two of our cohort members live there. The goal is to fight against the negative image of the Austin community by empowering community members to become guerrilla gardeners and drop wildflower seed bombs* in the neighborhood. The EJ cohort will partner with PCC Wellness to distribute 100 seed bombs to local residents and share information about the seed bombs and how they can make their own. A flyer will also be distributed with information on ways to get involved in environmental justice work by linking them to community organizations. *A seed bomb is a little ball made up of compost, clay and seeds. You throw them anywhere as long as there is soil beneath them. Seeds will remain dormant until their environmental needs are met and will then sprout! Fair and Just Schools - The 2017 Fair and Just Schools cohort campaign is to eliminate adultism in Chicago Public Schools. Their campaign is to unite 10 adult allies from Chicago Public Schools and educate them on how to dismantle adultism within a school and classroom setting. On December 10th, the held a youth-led workshop for teachers which addressed strategies to create an inclusive and supportive youth environment, ways to address adultism in school and tips on how to be allies to students. Healthy Communities - The 2017 Healthy Communities cohort campaign is to increase the understanding, self-esteem and efficacy of junior high students interested in attending high schools in the Chicago Public School system. Their campaign brings together youth from low-income communities of color who are in 7th or 8th grade at a CPS elementary school for two 2-hour sessions to educate students about navigating the CPS high school system, share selfempowerment activities and empower youth to take action and demand opportunities to a high-quality education. The work is mostly centered around having students understand that they have the ability to reach for their educational goals, in a system that is continually making systems feel like they are dumb, undeserving and voiceless.

PROJECT HEAL US Exploring, engaging, and expanding youth leadership for reproductive justice Project HealUs explored the history of the reproductive justice movement

engage our bodies, our selves, and each other.

misogyny; (3) reproductive planning; (4) rape culture knowledge and identification; (5) communication and compassionate countering techniques; and (6) organizing

100% gained skills like compassionate countering to combat misogyny and rape culture 87% strengthened knowledge about the reproductive justice movement LEARNED GAINED

4 PROJECT HEAL US Exploring, engaging, and expanding youth leadership for reproductive justice Project HealUs explored the history of the reproductive justice movement through intersectional lenses giving young people the opportunity to move beyond the pro- and antichoice debate and to explore the social and political ways that we engage our bodies, our selves, and each other. The curriculum, created and facilitated by a team of young people, centered around six main topics: (1) reproductive justice and the politics of the body; (2) misogyny; (3) reproductive planning; (4) rape culture knowledge and identification; (5) communication and compassionate countering techniques; and (6) organizing strategies to dismantle oppressive systems and create social change. 100% gained skills like compassionate countering to combat misogyny and rape culture 87% strengthened knowledge about the reproductive justice movement LEARNED GAINED CREATED... ABOUT HISTORY of the reproductive justice movement. "Project HealUs is a place where you learn about your sisters who have fought before you, a the ways in which they struggled and succeeded."...skills TO ACT. "I will more actively advocate for reproductive justice and I will continue to educate myself."...create SAFE SPACE. "Being in a space where I felt safe made me feel empowered."

youth leadership board Freedom Fellowship alumni who design and lead

body at CFS that works closely with youth programs staff to design CFS

direct actions, mentor Freedom Fellows, and facilitate workshops on

DESIGNED THE 2017 Freedom Fellowship LED WORKSHOPS for over 100 adults

5 youth leadership board Freedom Fellowship alumni who design and lead CFS youth leadership programs The YLB is a youth-led decision-making body at CFS that works closely with youth programs staff to design CFS s youth programs, write curriculum, conduct outreach, participate in direct actions, mentor Freedom Fellows, and facilitate workshops on various social justice across the city. DESIGNED THE 2017 Freedom Fellowship LED WORKSHOPS for over 100 adults on Understanding Adultism DESIGNED AND LED workshops on healing practices that reached over 500 young people

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT STORYTELLERS The YES Team is a team of Freedom Fellowship alumni who

Baltimore, MD and at the Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment Conference in

SPRING INSTITUTE FOR YOUNG ORGANIZERS Ten emerging organizers from Chicago Freedom

6 YOUTH EMPOWERMENT STORYTELLERS The YES Team is a team of Freedom Fellowship alumni who design and implement strategies to document and evaluate the impact of CFS youth programs. In 2017, they presented their work at the Free Minds Free People Conference in Baltimore, MD and at the Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment Conference in Chicago. SPRING INSTITUTE FOR YOUNG ORGANIZERS Ten emerging organizers from Chicago Freedom School, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, Chicago Desi Youth Rising and Little Village Environmental Justice Organization creating a learning community to share their work, build community and strategize ways to fight oppressive actions that threaten their communities.

Strengthening capacity for liberatory action through 2017 WORKSHOPS Smashing White Supremacy Over the Rainbow: Understanding the Intersections of Sexuality & Gender Community

White Folks & Racial Justice Rev Up Participants of Spring 2017 Rev Up, a multi-day training institute for youth organizers, youth workers, and educators who seek to incorporate

7 Strengthening capacity for liberatory action through 2017 WORKSHOPS Smashing White Supremacy Over the Rainbow: Understanding the Intersections of Sexuality & Gender Community Organizing Series Understanding Adultism Navigating the Grey Zone Identity, Power & Oppression Organizing Strategies for Black Liberation POPULAR popular EDUCATION education White Folks & Racial Justice Rev Up Participants of Spring 2017 Rev Up, a multi-day training institute for youth organizers, youth workers, and educators who seek to incorporate social change practices into their work. "I felt really validated in this space and in the work that I'm doing as a person of color for other people of color." "The youth-led session on adultism...made me see and start to reckon with adultist ideas I hold, which is an important first step in dismantling those beliefs in myself and in my organization." Nearly 1,000 people from across the city and region participated in 50 workshops focusing on SOCIAL JUSTICE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, ANTI-OPPRESSION PRACTICES, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZING SKILLS.

Freedom Fellowship 4,700 75 people from across the

training to build their capacity to support

organized and sponsored public programs on social

8 in the last ten years young leaders of color have completed the Freedom Fellowship 4, people from across the country have participated in CFS s workshops and training to build their capacity to support youthled social change and antioppression practices organized and sponsored public programs on social movement history, youth-led social change, and healing justice that reached over 5,000 people

9 thank you to our 2017 supporters & partners! FOUNDATIONS Chicago Foundation for Women CME Group Community Foundation Conant Family Foundation Cricket Island Foundation Crossroads Fund CTU Foundation Fehsenfeld Family Foundation Funders Collaborative on Youth Organizing New Visions Foundation Polk Bros Foundation Robert R. McCormick Foundation W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation PROGRAM & TRAINING PARTNERS Access Living Adler University Chicago Park District Chicago Women's Health Center Chicago Desi Youth Rising Communities United Education for Liberation Network Grassroots Education Movement Hana Center Illinois Safe Schools Alliance Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health Inner City Muslim Action Network Lawrence Hall Liberation Library Little Village Environmental Justice Organization PCC Wellness Center Project Nia Roosevelt University School of the Art Institute Southside Together Organizing for Power Trilogy University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration UIC IRRPP UIC M.Ed. Program in Youth Development University of Michigan School of Social Work And many more! thank you to over 250 individuals who gave their time, talent and financial support to ensure that our work continues. WE COULD NOT DO THIS WORK WITHOUT YOU!

PRO-CHOICE PUBLIC EDUCATION PROJECT (PEP) STRATEGIC PLAN

PRO-CHOICE PUBLIC EDUCATION PROJECT (PEP) STRATEGIC PLAN 2010-2012 INTRODUCTION PEP entered 2009 with the energy and optimism that the 2008 elections had reawakened in communities and individuals across