Below are some reflections from our Fellows and graduated Bridgers about their time in the Fellowship. We want to wish a hearty congratulations to all of our graduated Seniors, it has been a pleasure knowing each and every one of you, and we cannot wait to see all that you accomplish in the years to come!
As we enter spring, we are also nearing the end of our 2020-2021 program year. The weather is getting warmer, the leaves are returning to the trees, and our teens want to share what they have been up to at YouthBridge-NY. Over the past few months, we have continued to see engaging dialogue and growth from our teens in our Skillbuilding Workshops, Social Action Committee meetings, and Bridger meetings. Keep reading to hear from our teens about how they relate what they have been learning in our program to their own lives.
By Isabel Ottensoser
A powerful image from Kendrick Lamar’s 2016 Grammy Awards performance. (Image source: https://www.nme.com/news/music/kendrick-lamar-18-1201242)
Normally, when I listen to music, it’s a mindless, passive activity. Sometimes the chorus sticks in my head and I am able to repeat the words, again, usually without much thinking. It’s more reflexive. When we were asked to find a song that spoke to the injustice of mass incarceration, I knew there were songs about injustice generally, but I never really focused on the lyrics. This assignment was incredibly eye – opening. I came to realize that music is not just for entertainment, or to put in the background of a Tik Tok post. Music is a platform for artists to express themselves to the world and when the world is listening, music can be a rally cry for a cause.
When discussing songs that represent injustice, many people in the group related to Childish Gambino’s “This is America”. When I think back to watching clips of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, this is the song that I hear in the background. In my mind, probably because it was the song that people used when posting about the police brutality and protests. As Morgan Sung, a journalist for Mashable wrote: “A remix of Childish Gambino's, ‘This is America’ is now a viral anthem on Tik Tok used to protest police brutality against black people.” Although I understand why so many people associated racial injustice with “This is America,” for me, “Alright,” by Kendrick Lamar, addressed more specifically the injustice of mass incarceration. He calls out the injustice, but ultimately has a hopeful message, singing, “we gonna be alright.” After our group discussion, I surfed the internet some more, paying closer attention to lyrics of the songs and associated videos and images. I watched Kendrick Lamar’s performance of “Alright”from the 2016 Grammys. It doesn’t get more powerful than that. He walked onto the stage, dressed as a prisoner, with his band in cages. Sometimes to get a message across, it requires overloading more than one sense – in this case – the lyrics and the brutal images.
By Renggeng Zheng
A screenshot from Renggeng’s group during February’s Skillbuilding brainstorming session.
A large part of leadership is presenting yourself and your ideas in a flattering manner. To do this, you must be cognizant of what you’re selling/marketing, your audience, and what the circumstances are. Once you identify these factors, you can then create a coherent marketing message that will give you the best chance of putting forward your ideas.
In my group for our February skillbuilding workshop on marketing strategies, this was fun as we chose increasingly outlandish scenarios to try to market a solution to. Even in such unrealistic scenarios, the basic principles of marketing remain true. For example, say you are a teenager in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. I’m here trying to sell you the idea of eating a can of worms. Since you’re in the middle of the area notorious for plane and boat disappearances, let’s also place you on a deserted island after one of these unfortunate mishaps. In this scenario, you likely have no food, no water, and your prospects of survival are looking grim. Introducing the idea of eating worms to you, as a viable survival option, might be intriguing, and almost certainly would work when faced with the other option of starvation.
While the above is certainly a morbid and improbable scenario, it does demonstrate a lot of the core components required in making a change in the world. First, you need to identify a class/group of people you want to mobilize. Since I’m in the Food and Income Security committee, let’s go with legislators like the Senate Budgetary Committee. Then we identify a need, namely that of people working wages that are not enough to sustain them. Now, we identify a solution or idea, say, raising the minimum wage to 15 dollars an hour. Now that we’ve identified a target, a need, and a solution, we can tailor our message to target these core components. For example, we can argue from a moral and pragmatic point of view—it will improve the quality of life for their constituents, and thus bolster their reelection chances and improve their public image. From an economic angle, we can then argue that giving people more spending capital allows them to bolster small businesses when they are buying goods and services with this newfound wealth.
Thus, the biggest thing I took away from this session was how to craft an effective campaign to push forward issues that concern you. I came into the session mostly expecting to learn about how to manage and monitor a campaign, but I learned that pushing for an agenda was much more than raw numerical quantity. It also depends on how impactful your message is. While you can mobilize a group if you have no coherent message, it becomes hard to effect change.
By Benjamin Yazdi
“Since the 1960s, wealth inequality in America has only risen.” was the last thing I heard before my face froze from shock. That’s awful, I thought to myself. I hope in future we can fix this.
An image of farming in Israel (Image source: http://www.commodafrica.com/28-11-2019-des-agriculteurs-gambiens-se-forment-en-israel)
As a practicing Jew, I feel a moral obligation to understand the Old Testament, as well as secular sources’ approach toward fixing wealth inequality. This has led me to read many works of art, the most thought invoking secular one being "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" by Peter Singer. In this article, Singer argues that all individuals and governments should donate money until the marginal utility for them is equal to the marginal utility of starving people of any nationality. This radical vision for equality is largely in concordance with the Old Testament, which obligates all Jews (with the exception of either extremes on the wealth spectrum) to donate ten percent of their annual earnings to charity. Singer, who is not Jewish, writes that in a utopia all countries would donate to the staving, but in our world, one can not assume some other country will help out the starving people, and so each country must have the mindset that they are the only people who will help, and therefore quickly pick up any slack in the fighting world hunger effort. However, it is notable that under the Old Testament’s commandment, there would be no need for such a mindset and radical action.
At YouthBridge-NY, I was given the unique opportunity to be a part of the Food and Income Security committee, where I am learning more about the horrors of mass wealth inequality. In combining modern statistics with the Old Testament’s approach, I feel more knowledgeable and able to combat wealth inequality, even if it is on a minute level.
My YouthBridge-NY Food and Income Security committee members have talked at length about the lack of food security many households face. We have also discussed how women and non-white Americans have a lower average income than their white male counterpart, as well as other crestfallen statistics. Food security is a large and widely neglected issue. Many families do not have the means for healthy food, which can result in things like eating or mental disorders. As per my tendency, I related this tragedy back to the Old Testament’s solution. The Old Testament does not allow farmers to harvest crops on the corners of their farms -- the corners are left for the under-serviced to take. This acts as a safety-net for the under-serviced. Additionally, if, while the farmers are gathering their harvest, a sheave is dropped, it is not allowed to be picked up, and must be left for the under-serviced.
When I first came to YouthBridge-NY, I did not expect to have such a powerful experience; Not only did I learn about the tribulations of food and income security, I was also able to relate it to my religion in a positive, meaningful manner.
By Abigail Crispin
A screenshot from our January Skillbuilding workshop, taken during the Werewolf game.
Prior to joining the workshop this January I felt a little stressed due to prior commitments. I only thought this workshop would be an educational aspect and didnt feel up for it. But what occurred was very different from what I previously thought! Instead of sitting at a screen listening to someone else talk, it was very interactive. We played a game called Werewolf which taught all of the participants to use their intuition. We had to find out who the wolves were in this session and it was actually really fun! Playing this interactive game allowed me to destress and step away from reality, even if it was just for a moment. I learned to trust in your gut and to have backbone and confront others if you think something is wrong. Along with playing this game, I also took a huge piece of advice which I can use in my day to day life which is to trust in yourself. I still think about it until this day.
The end of 2020 brought a lot of challenges to YouthBridge-NY and the teens we work with. Despite that, YouthBridge-NY successfully kicked off our 2020-2021 programming. Utilizing Zoom, we welcomed a new cohort of Fellows, as well as our Bridgers who are back for their second year. By thinking creatively, we have been able to adapt our skillbuilding sessions, committee meetings, and bonding activities to a virtual setting. Read more below about how our teens have been impacted by the pandemic, and what role YouthBridge-NY plays in their experience of it.
We have started off the programming year with a bang! Beginning with our orientation retreat in August we welcomed new eleventh grade fellows into the Fellowship and twelfth grade Bridgers into their second year. Fellows and Bridgers have been busy attending skill-building sessions, committee meetings, hearing from our alumni, and joining together for team building and bonding activities. Read more below and check out some photo highlights of the year so far!
