Ideas and action for a new generation. en-us http://www.wiretapmag.org/rss/button.gif http://www.wiretapmag.org/ Wiretap http://www.wiretapmag.org/ Copyright 2010 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved. en-us http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/44739/ Bahamadia and Roxanne Shante talk life on the road. Rapper <a href="http://emergencemusic.net/">Invincible's</a> got a new short documentary on life on the road with some of hip-hop's most revered female emcees, including Bahamadia and Roxanne Shante. {$media.0.html} Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:00:01 PST Emergence http://www.wiretapmag.org/stories/44736/ From shutting down rat-infested prisons to improving voting registration and making college more accessible, young people put their energies into extraordinary actions that changed their communities, and the world. <b><span style="color:blue;">New Beginnings for Juvenile Justice</b></span> The decades-long battle to close some of the nation's most decrepit youth prisons got a big boost in 2009. On May 29, Washington, D.C. closed long-troubled Oak Hill Youth Center after years of reported scrutiny over rat-infested cells, abuse by guards and dismal educational programming (<a href="http://www.jdcy.org/PR-New-Beginnings.pdf">PDF</a>). The facility was <a href=<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2009/05/29/VI2009052902478.html">replaced</a> by New Beginnings Youth Center, a $46 million dollar campus that eschews razor wire fencing and clunky cells for electronic entry cards, a library and a landscaped courtyard. "[New Beginnings] is the anti-prison," Vincent N. Schiraldo, director of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052803747.html">told</a> <i>The Washington Post</i> in May. "What we had before was a training school for them to become adult inmates. We want them to aspire to college, to be in a place that looks like you care about them." In August, California state officials <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/28/local/me-prisons28">announced</a> plans to close Herman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility in Chino. A <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/28/MNGG7OCLJB1.DTL">report</a> released in 2007 concluded that the environment was so bad at the facility that youth were especially prone to violence or suicide. The Community Justice Network for Youth (<a href="http://www.cjny.org/">CJNY</a>), a juvenile justice advocacy group based in California, <a href="http://www.cjny.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64:chino-cya-to-close-bittersweet-victory-for-youth-justice-coalition&catid=8:latest-news&Itemid=19">warned</a> that the Stark closure is bittersweet, adding that the state still intends to transform the facility into an adult prison. Both prison closures came amid new reports (<a href="http://www.justice.gov/crt/split/documents/NY_juvenile_facilities_findlet_08-14-2009.pdf">PDF</a>) of abuse and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/us/10juvenile.html?_r=1">neglect</a> in youth detention centers across the country. <b><span style="color:blue;">Richmond, Calif. Students Learn From Tragedy</b></span> <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_richmond_1261445144.jpg"> The horrific <a href="http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-10-29/news/17184695_1_juvenile-hall-younger-boys-robbery-charge">news</a> of a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly gang-raped outside of her homecoming dance at Richmond High School in Northern California shocked millions. What made it even worse were <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/27/california.gang.rape.investigation">reports</a> that the attack was witnessed by over a dozen people who, over the course of two hours, allegedly took photos and joined the attack, but <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qryX-29ATbM">failed</a> to intervene or call police. In the weeks that followed, Richmond High students faced intense media scrutiny. The students, most of whom are working class and of color, were called "animals" and "monsters" by several outraged media observers. Students acted quickly. With the help of campus-based organizations like <a href="http://www.youthtogether.net/">Youth Together</a>, a Bay Area education reform organization, hundreds of dedicated students and teachers mobilized <a href="http://www.youthtogether.net/peace/2009/11/02/richmond-cares-community-healing-event-and-candlelight-vigil-at-richmond-high-school/ ">candlelight vigils</a> and financial support funds to help the victim recover. "Some people think Richmond doesn't care, but would we all be out here if nobody cared?" <a href="http://www.ktvu.com/video/21457957/index.html">said</a> one student leader at a school rally held shortly after the attack. Students and activists are also developing gender violence trainings to be added into the school's permanent curriculum. By the end of the training, organizers hope that students will examine how they perpetuate violence in their own lives, know how to respond to a bystander and become certified anti-violence trainers. <b>Video:</b> {$media.0.html}<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/7338025">Richmond High Responds to Homecoming Rape</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/namvideo">New America Media</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> <b><span style="color:blue;">Wisconsin Students Dream Big</b></span> While federal officials stalled on immigration reform this year, students in Wisconsin went full steam ahead when they successfully passed a state-based version of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream_Act ">DREAM Act</a>. According to <a href="http://www.dreamactivist.org/">immigration activists</a>, each year thousands of undocumented students are barred from going to college because they don't qualify for state or federal financial aid. Student-led <a href="http://www.wiretapmag.org/immigration/44312/">groups</a> across the country have increased their efforts to pass the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DREAM_Act ">DREAM Act</a>, a proposed piece of federal legislation that would provide undocumented students with a path toward legalization and qualify them for financial aid. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_dream.jpg"> On June 29, Wisconsin <a href="http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_12691.shtml">became</a> the 11th state in the nation to allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition. Students organized with the support of immigrant advocacy groups <a href="http://www.vdlf.org/">Voces de la Frontera</a> and Students United for Recognizing Immigrant Rights (<a href="http://sufrir.ning.com/">SUFRIR</a>). "I really think this gets us back on course with our brightest having more access to education," State Rep. Pedro Colon <a href="http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_12691.shtml">told</a> the <i>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</i>. It's estimated that between 400-650 undocumented students graduate each year from Wisconsin high schools. WireTap reporter Antonio Daniel Ramirez, a former Milwaukee public school teacher, <a href="http://www.wiretapmag.org/blogs/immigration/44351/">recalled</a> that at the school where he taught, four of the class valedictorians in five years had been undocumented students. <b><span style="color:blue;">Green Jobs, Clean Energy</b></span> In February, 12,000 young people descended on D.C. as part of the <a href="http://www.wiretapmag.org/environment/44053/">Power Shift '09</a> campaign -- organized by the <a href="http://www.energyactioncoalition.org/about">Energy Action Coalition</a> -- to push for a ban on coal, immediate action on climate legislation this year, investment in green jobs and a 40 percent carbon emissions reduction by 2020. Youth from all 50 states hammered their message home in some 370 meetings with Congressional members and staff. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_greenjobs.jpg"> Organizers have plenty of successes to tout. The stimulus package passed in February set aside $50 billion for the nation's <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-02-12-stimulus-package-effects_N.htm">energy economy</a>, focusing mostly on renewable energy, including $5 billion to make <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/home_improvement/4306631.html">homes</a> more energy efficient. Another $500 million was specifically allocated for <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/greenbusiness/ci_12453837">green jobs</a>. The administration has <a href="http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/washington-whispers/2009/02/26/reid-celebrates-obamas-yucca-mountain-decision.html">pushed</a> to eliminate Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage, and in his <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/24/sotn.obama.transcript/">address</a> to the joint session of Congress, Obama asked members to deliver legislation to support caps on carbon pollution and investment in renewable energy. <b><span style="color:blue;">Moving Voter Registration Into the 21st Century</b></span> <a href="http://busproject.org/">The Bus Federation</a>'s affiliates in two states -- the <a href="http://busproject.org/about/">Oregon Bus Project</a> and <a href="http://www.neweracolorado.org/">New Era Colorado</a> -- helped pass online voter registration bills, which moves the voter registration process in our country closer to the 21st century. These bills make voter registration easier by allowing anyone with a valid state ID the ability to register online and not deal with printing and mailing in the form, as is required in all but five states now. By pairing the voter registration database with state DMV databases, county clerks can verify the signatures on file to prevent fraud. The whole system will reduce administrative costs in the long-term. Jeff Mapes <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/06/online_voter_registration_pass.html ">reported</a> in <i>The Oregonian</i> that registering online has already become popular in Arizona and Washington, the first two states that adopted online registration -- particularly among younger voters. In Washington last year, 25 percent of all new registrants signed up by internet. The director of New Era Colorado, Steve Fenberg, says, "It took us two years to get the bill passed, but the second time we introduced it, it was broadly bipartisan -- it passed unanimously in the Senate. I'd say the coolest part of the bill is that it was supported completely by a grassroots effort with no hired lobbyists and it was actually written and lobbied through by young interns of New Era." <img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4209488346_0cb5821d6f_o.jpg"> <b><span style="color:blue;">Students Win Higher Education Standards</b></span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracking_(education)">Tracking</a>. It's a term used to describe the ugly practice in American public education of placing students in different academic settings based on ability. Score low on a standardized high school entrance test and a student might be given only remedial and non-rigorous classes, which ultimately can limit their college choices. Californians for Justice <a href="http://www.caljustice.org">(CFJ)</a>, a grassroots statewide youth organizing non-profit working for educational and racial justice in public schools, has been fighting for all students' rights to the <a href="http://publicportal.ousd.k12.ca.us/199410811181630317/site/default.asp"> A-G course sequence</a> required for admittance at California State and University of California system colleges and universities. In June 2009, CFJ scored a <a href="http://www.americantowns.com/ca/oakland/news/oakland-unified-school-district-adopts-a-g-standard-for-all-students-194767">major victory</a> in Oakland, Calif. when the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) joined San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego districts in making A-G courses the standard curriculum for all students. "An A-G curriculum will allow more Oakland students to be eligible for university," says CFJ Communication Director Paul Tran. "It will lessen student tracking, which is often based on racial and ethnic stereotyping, and follows the will of Oakland parents and students who stated in many surveys that they were interested in attending college." Students played a lead role in achieving the new standards, which take effect in the fall of 2012. According to CJF Executive Director Jeremy Lahoud, the "A-G for All" campaign involved student leaders from CFJ, <a href="http://www.youthinfocus.org/about.html">Youth in Focus</a>, Asian Immigrant Women Advocates <a href="http://www.aiwa.org/index.php">(AIWA)</a>, <a href="http://www.youthtogether.net/peace/">Youth Together</a>, and other youth organizations who worked with OUSD's Meaningful Student Engagement initiative and <a href="http://www.edtrust.org/west">Education Trust-West</a> to conduct action research on the issue of college access and readiness. Student leaders presented their findings and demands to the OUSD school board prior the board's vote on the A-G resolution. <img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4058/4209488316_16c0c96572_o.jpg"> In one crucial <a href="http://www.ibabuzz.com/education/2009/06/10/oakland-student-director-tells-it-like-it-is/ ">confrontation</a>, Oakland High School senior Cecilia Lopez made her demands known when a skeptical retired teacher and school board meeting regular said A-G would fail. "We are an economically challenged urban community," Lopez said. "If you're saying that the classes are going to be too hard, that means you don't believe. We're not asking for more counselors, we're asking for a counseling system. If we have A-G, it's not whether we can do it or not, it's whether the adults are willing to support us." The school board agreed with Lopez and A-G passed. Now CFJ hopes to bring Fresno and other school districts in California on board. Lahoud believes the A-G campaign victory in Oakland will build momentum for a statewide and national movement that demands that all students, especially low-income students of color, receive an education that fully prepares them for college, careers and civic participation. "All students deserve the right to chose their path after high school and deserve the curriculum, qualified teachers, supports and resources to get there," says Lahoud. "CFJ is part of a new national alliance, the <a href="http://www.allianceforeducationaljustice.org">Alliance for Educational Justice</a>, that demands college and career preparation for all students, regardless of race, income or immigration status, and will be part of launching a national campaign in 2010 to ensure that this demand is part of the reauthorization of the <a href="http://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA02/index.html">Elementary and Secondary Education Act</a>." With California students mobilized from Sacramento to Long Beach, it seems likely that CFJ's efforts will only blossom further. <img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4209488396_54882291b3_o.jpg"> <b><span style="color:blue;">Media Activists Push Back on Dropout Statistics</b></span> A report <a href="http://www.clms.neu.edu/publication/documents/CLMS_2009_Dropout_Report.pdf">(PDF)</a> by the Center for Labor Market Studies found that nearly 6.2 million students in the United States between the ages of 16 and 24 dropped out of high school in 2007, in what the study calls "<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/05/dropout.rate.study/index.html">a persistent high school dropout crisis</a>." 27.5 percent of Latinos and one in five African Americans drop out in what even Congressmen George Miller's (D-Calif.) Committee on Education and Labor describes as a <a href="http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2009/05/high-school-dropout-crisis-thr.shtml">crisis</a> that threatens America's economic growth. Participants at New Haven, CT's Youth Rights Media <a href="http://www.youthrightsmedia.org/">(YRM)</a> view these statistics as a call to action and an opportunity to explore hidden aspects of the dropout phenomenon. YRM's latest documentary film, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rongPuV46K0&feature=player_embedded">"Pushed,"</a> examines how students are discouraged from succeeding and sometimes forced to leave school after academic or disciplinary difficulties. Students deemed to be too much trouble for mainstream schools risk being "pushed out." An administrator interviewed in the documentary says that "push out" simply means "we've come up with official reasons to say [to a student], 'We don't want you.'" In the documentary, young narrators ask probing questions about the local impact of the nation's largely invisible dropout crisis. Specifically, the video looks at how many New Haven students are really graduating from high school, and why others fall short of completing their diplomas. It examines where dropouts end up (largely in the criminal justice system) and makes a powerful economic argument for investing more in public education as opposed to pushing students into alternative schools and juvenile detention. The documentary presents perspectives from both young people and adults and succeeds in underscoring the need for more investment in education and youth training programs. Youth Rights Media was initially founded in 2000 by Yale law students Homer Robinson, Gabriel Plotkin and undergrad Laura McCargar as the Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project, a student-run organization with the goal of shifting the dynamic between youth and police officers. They incorporated as YRM in 2002 and began producing documentaries like 2005's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnTgYHLu5eA&feature=player_embedded">"Book 'Em: Undereducated, Overincarcerated,"</a> which explores the "school to prison pipeline" and 2007's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EaQVqsqyXE&feature=player_embedded">"Help Wanted,"</a> which looks at youth employment opportunities. YRM's mission statement is to build "youth power and leadership by engaging young people in video media production and community organizing, equipping them with tools, skills and strategies for effecting change within themselves and their communities." As "Pushed" proves, creative young people are framing and driving the debate on subjects that deeply impact their lives. {$media.1.html} <img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4020/4209485054_9bb4ddf1dc_m.jpg"> <b><span style="color:blue;">L.A. Community Activist Joins Obama Administration</b></span> President Obama isn't the only grassroots community organizer to make it to the White House in 2009. He'll be joined in November by Los Angeles youth activist <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFggtG_3IwM">Alberto Retana</a> <b>(pictured right with California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass)</b> who spent the past 11 years working with the Community Coalition <a href="http://cocosouthla.org/">(CoCo)</a>, a non-profit social service and civic engagement organization based in South Central L.A. Retana <a href="http://www.lawattstimes.com/life-and-style-mainmenu-31/community/1176-community-meetings.html">joins</a> the Obama administration as the new director of Community Outreach for the Department of Education. This is a major achievement for Retana and youth activists everywhere, illustrating that "people power" works. According to CoCo Communications Director Jung Hee Choi, Retana joined the coalition in 1998 and served as youth director of the coalition's <a href="http://socal4youth.org/story.php?story=8">Youth Empowered thru Action</a> program. He has been a strong advocate for African American and Latino unity and also led the fight to pass A-G curriculum standards for all students in L.A. public schools. Now at the Dept. of Ed he'll work with communities across the country to give them a voice in shaping federal education reform policy. Not bad for a man still in his 20s. After being honored by CoCo at their annual staff dinner in October at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown L.A., where he was commended for his hard work and notable sense of humor, Retana set out touring schools with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Retana will help the Obama administration with its school turn-around projects in L.A. and other school districts. Choi sees Retana's appointment as a validation of the Community Coalition's work. "We feel really proud that he comes out of our organization," she told WireTap by phone from her office in L.A. Choi says that Retana excels at both the "art and science" of organizing. Choi recalled how Retana inspired one young ardent female student organizer who challenged Retana's approach of allowing all youth to participate in his actions regardless of political knowledge or commitment. He eventually convinced her that activism is something that can be nurtured over time. Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:00:01 PST The Editors, WireTap http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/44730/ Rappers address climate change and sustainability. <i>(This post originally appeared on <a href="http://colorlines.com/article.php?ID=659">ColorLines</a> by way of <a href="http://www.urbanhabitat.org/cj/youth">Urban Habitat</a>'s publication Race, Poverty & the Environment.)</i> Twenty-year-old aspiring rapper <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sbgcbf">Tre Pound</a> was born in San Francisco's Hunters Point, a predominantly low-income community of color with the dubious distinction of housing the two most toxic Superfund sites in the United States, as well as power and sewage treatment plants. Asthma, cancer and diabetes rates in that area are all disproportionately higher than in other parts of the Bay Area. "I kinda knew where I was living wasn't environmentally safe," said Pound, but the public school he attended provided little information about industrial pollution or climate change. Pound said he frequently incorporates socially aware themes into his music, but he had never made an environmentally aware rap song until he signed up to compete in Grind for the Green's (<a href="http://www.grindforthegreen.com/">G4G</a>) Eco-Rap battle in August. He ended up winning the competition, earning a $1000 prize and studio time, by outpacing several other contestants with his eco-friendly flow during G4G's second annual free concert at the Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_g4gwpanels.jpg"> Pound is just one voice in the growing number of youth voices engaged in community organizing for social change. Millions of young people around the world participate in social activism. According to WireTap magazine, there are more than 600 youth-led community organizations currently creating green jobs, removing toxic waste, combating corporate pollution and fighting against violence in their communities. The undeniable reality of climate change speaks to the need for greater awareness and eco-sustainability among inner-city residents and people of color. Green has become the new face of youth activism, and today's urban eco-activists use hip-hop as their medium. Powered entirely by solar panels, the G4G event attracted hundreds of youth, their parents, community members, hip-hop fans and members of other environmental activism groups, like <a href="http://www.greenforall.org/">Green for All</a>, <a href="http://www.acespace.org/">Alliance for Climate Education</a> and <a href="http://www.baylocalize.org/">Bay Localize</a>. G4G Executive Director <a href="http://www.theroot.com/views/green-collar-hero-zakiya-harris"> Zakiya Harris</a> said she is utilizing hip-hop to focus young people's attention on environmental issues. "We have to make it culturally relevant and engaging," she explained. According to stic.man of Dead Prez, who headlined the concert, the green hip-hop movement is about empowerment, information and economics -- allowing people to "stop being just consumers and victims of corporations," while "producing and providing those alternative resources that we need." During the concert, Oakland rapper Mistah F.A.B. showcased his community-minded side with material like "If 'If' Was a Fifth" -- in which he muses: "What if poverty was gone and there was no more war and hunger?" At the conclusion of his performance, he announced that he was donating his $3,500 performance fee to the upcoming <a href="http://www.myspace.com/oaklandgymc"> Green Youth Media Center</a>, a joint project between G4G, Art in Action, Weapons of Mass Expression and other progressive nonprofit organizations. The first of its kind in California, the Green Youth Media Center symbolizes the hope of green hip-hop activists like G4G's Harris and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/fiyawatacrew">Ambessa Cantave</a> and Art in Action's Galen Peterson, who envision similar centers opening up all over the United States. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_solarconcert.jpg"> The center, which opened its doors in October, is a green building offering vocational, arts, and new-media training; music production; youth-leadership and violence-prevention training; and green-jobs education; as well as creating green revenue streams by selling art, music and merchandise produced by its participants. In order to teach urban youngsters about climate change, "We literally have to change their climate... their social climate," Cantave explained. "We've related [climate change] to their health. It goes back to telling the story of something they already know; where they're from." The emergence of green hip-hop activism represents the latest development in the ongoing movement to mobilize young people -- a line connecting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Harris_Jones#Children.27s_Crusade">Mother Jones's 1908 march</a> of 100,000 child laborers from rural Pennsylvanian coal mines to Washington, D.C., to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's organizing around civil rights issues in the 1960s, to the Books Not Bars fight against the juvenile justice system in the early 2000s. These days, young people are organizing around community-sustainable platforms, combining social justice with a burgeoning environmental awareness. "You can't start out talking about three million parts per billion of carbon," Cantave said. "It's not just something about polar bears." Inner-city kids like Pound "have an innate sense of justice," he says, "but haven't yet connected that to the need for environmental justice." Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:01 PST Eric Arnold, ColorLines http://www.wiretapmag.org/stories/44726/ How do young black men define 'success' in the age of Obama? For anyone who's ever ridden the New York subway, this short film, directed by <a href="http://mykwain.viewbook.com/">Mykwain Gainey</a>, might look familiar. {$media.0.html}<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/6972284">Loo$e Change</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/mykwain">Mykwain Gainey</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:00:01 PST http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/44718/ A Cincinnati painter looks to urban landscape and sees beauty and vitality. Cedric Michael Cox's exhibit, <a href="http://cedriccox.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/soul-within-structure-opening-at-the-cac/">"Soul within Structure,"</a> finds its home at <a href="http://www.contemporaryartscenter.org/unmuseum">The UnMuseum</a>, part of <a href="http://www.contemporaryartscenter.org/">Cincinnati's Contemporary Art Center</a>. The location is a perfect fit for the 33-year-old Cincinnati-based visual <a href="http://cedriccox.wordpress.com/about/">artist</a>. UnMuseum is designed to provide educational <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/107054/parks-and-recreation-the-camel?c=366:444">introductions</a> for those new to contemporary art. Cox is passionate about doing just that. In addition to exhibiting in galleries all over the world, Cox has taught young artists how to better express themselves with their craft at the local public library, the <a href="http://www.cincinnatiarts.org/venues/aronoff/">Aronoff Center for the Arts</a> and <a href="http://www.visionariesandvoices.com/content/vv-about">Visionaries and Voices</a>, an organization for artists with disabilities. Last summer he joined with the non-profit arts organization <a href="http://www.artworkscincinnati.org/">Artworks</a> to lead a group of high school students as they improved their own corner of the city with a colorful <a href="http://cedriccox.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/raymond-thunder-sky-legacy-mural/">mural</a>. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_cmc+painting.jpg"> Before <a href="http://visionariesandvoices.com/article/vv-cedric-cox">Cox</a> became a teacher, he earned his art degree as a student at the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture Art and Planning <a href="http://daap.uc.edu/"> (DAAP)</a>. There he absorbed influences such as Italian futurist <a href="http://www.artinthepicture.com/paintings/Umberto_Boccioni/Street-Noises-Invade-the-House/">Umberto Boccioni</a> and painters like <a href="http://www.contempafricanart.com/artist.asp?artistid=WoseneWorkeKosrof">Wosene Worke Kosrof</a> and <a href="http://www.artcyclopedia.com/scripts/r.pl?R014+504">Fernand Leger</a>. He went on to study at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland and returned to Ohio in 2000 where he discovered his current muse: Cincinnati's <a href="http://www.cincy.com/home/neighborhoods/parms/1/hood/over-the-rhine.html">Over-the-Rhine (OTR)</a> neighborhood. Home to a growing artistic community, Cox's turf is known for antique architecture, which inspires his unique blend of surrealist and abstract art. When he first arrived, the neighborhood was far from its current path towards revitalization. Outside of Cincinnati, most know OTR as the center of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Cincinnati_riots">racially charged riots</a> that erupted in the neighborhood following the police killing of an unarmed black youth named Timothy Thomas in 2001. Since then, many in the community have worked to address the poverty and violence in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, negative ideas about OTR linger, despite the community's considerable progress. A lot of people, both locally and nationally, still view the ethnically diverse neighborhood with scorn. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_cincinnati+painting.jpg"> But when Cox looks at the urban landscape of OTR, he sees beyond social problems to the place's beauty and vitality. Cox's art borrows a lot from his inner-city surroundings. The architecture of his paintings, like the architecture of his neighborhood, contain elaborate details and lines that draw the eye toward the sky. His art demands that the viewer pause to see what it really is, beyond what the first glance might miss. At the same time, Cox appeals to less knowledgeable art fans by concentrating on accessible subjects, like music, the human body or, in the case of "Soul within Structure," inner-city landscapes. Cox's fragmented style -- he often refers to it as "quilt-like" -- is in full force in this latest exhibit. The artist sprinkles his cityscape "quilt" with references to the 19th century architecture found throughout OTR, like <a href="http://www.otrfoundation.org/architecture.php">Italianate ornaments</a>, Greek columns and Gothic arches. He paints in a way that looks enough like the real thing to be familiar, but still evokes a fresh emotional response. In "Spiritual Horizons 2," Cox has recreated his neighborhood in a way that resembles a chaotic stained glass window. Cox makes the places others dismiss look like something sacred. In "Horizons," Cox shows his audience a vision of the Ohio River with a stylized skyline in the distance that is both busy and serene. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_otr+painting.jpg"> Cox often <a href="http://cincy-artsnob.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-decided-to-open-my-artist-interview.html">uses</a> musical terms to describe his work. His compositions bear similarities to music-inspired painter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Lawrence">Jacob Lawrence</a>. But whereas Lawrence's paintings are influenced by jazz, Cox's work is far more influenced by heavy metal. As a side project, Cox has played bass for 17 years with a metal band called <a href="http://www.myspace.com/morticite">Morticite</a>. His paintings lack the overt anger his music uses, but Cox composes both his songs and visual art with a rapid succession of pointed, climactic highs with few slow or soft moments. The excitement his art conveys makes Cox well-suited for the activities included in the display. Like all of the exhibits in The UnMuseum, Cox's "Soul within Structure" is interactive. He encourages children to get involved by working together to construct their own city. The effect is a collage resembling one of Cox's urban landscapes. Though their compositions of glue and paper look humorously haphazard next to Cox's expertly planned pieces, even the children reinforce one of his themes. Through his art, Cox doesn't just represent the way the city looks, he reshapes the reality around him. Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:01 PST Geoffrey Dobbins, WireTap http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/44721/ You could call her the MIA of Washington Heights, but that might be too generic. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/malucamala">Maluca</a> is a 27-year-old dominicana born and bred in New York. <a href="http://www.xlr8r.com/news/2009/06/artist-watch-maluca">XLR8R praised her sound</a> a while back, and she connected with Diplo at last year's SXSW. {$media.0.html} More from her label <a href="http://maddecent.com/blog/2009/03/20/maluca/">Mad Decent</a>. Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:00:01 PST http://www.wiretapmag.org/stories/44715/ A new book examines what's lost by moving up the economic ladder. <i>An Angle of Vision</i>, edited by Vanderbilt University Associate Professor of English Lorraine M. Lopez, is a collection of essays from women writers who grew up in the poor and working classes. The contributors to this book -- including Sandra Cisneros, Dorothy Allison, Joy Harjo, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Bich Minh Nguyen and Joy Castro -- explore the complex love-hate relationships they have with their current workplaces, what they learned from work they've done in the past and how both serve as a kind of binding liberation. The sentiment present in these works remains grounded in the reality that "making it" comes with a price: "dual class citizenship" or an outsider status whereby they do not fully belong to one class or another. <b>WireTap: This book came about quite serendipitously. Can you tell me how it happened?</b> <b>Lorraine Lopez:</b> In 2007, I organized a panel of women writers for Associated Writing Programs in Atlanta, Georgia. It was titled "Trashy Women" and consisted of readings from personal essays on growing up in lower-class homes. LeAnn Fields, the senior executive editor of the University of Michigan Press, happened to attend and approached me afterward with the idea of collecting the essays for a book. I felt it was time to broach the subject of class difference in a pragmatic and relate-able way, so I set about identifying women writers from the lower classes whose work inspired or continues to inspire me to live beyond my beginnings. <b>What are the effects of writing one's own story?</b> It's an opportunity to claim authority and to flip the script by writing about ourselves in particular and personal ways instead of being written about by others in generalized and impersonal terms. To become the subject instead of the object in the long convoluted sentence of one's life is intoxicatingly liberating. <b>Yet some women you approached turned you down. What barriers may prevent someone from offering their experiences for public consumption?</b> We cannot predict and should not underestimate the repercussions writing about the past might have on those we love. Their stories intersect with our stories, and in telling these, we inadvertently reveal things that loved ones might not wish to share, things that can implicate those who struggled to raise us for not being more provident. When writing about social class and deprivation translates into betrayal for those we care about, the sharp edge of grief and guilt quickly subsumes the triumph of accomplishment. In my own case, a close family member was deeply hurt by my pieces in the collection, and I had no idea this writing would have such an effect. The women who contributed to this collection all take this risk in sharing their personal stories. <b>What role does education play in class jumping?</b> While education appears to be the ticket out of the lower classes for women writers, it also leads to an often inhospitable destination: academia. Clearly, the benefits are greater resources for composing creative work and economic stability, but we pay for these benefits in ways that our colleagues don't. We pay through outsider status, and if we are from a marginalized cultural group, we pay through our tolerated and tokenized presence. In either case, we routinely confront the unspoken belief held by many of our colleagues -- and sometimes our students -- that we have not fully earned the positions we occupy, that these were charitably granted despite our shortcomings in some misguided institutional quest for "diversity." <b>The royalties for <i>An Angle of Vision</i> will be given to the Child Welfare League of America. Was it important that there be an activist element to this book?</b> This is extremely important. All of the contributors supported this decision, and many contributed their honorariums as well. Wherever and whenever possible, we are determined to blur the distinction between activism and art. In Joy Castro's titular essay, she discusses what we women from the lower classes bring to the world as "an angle of vision and the will to change," and delineates ways formerly poor women writers now in academia can translate current privilege into opportunities for others, citing Toni Morrison's edict: "The function of freedom is to free someone else." I am fortunate enough to be in a position where I could compile and edit the collection, work to promote it and not be paid for my efforts. I feel well compensated, even richly rewarded by the chance to commune with these remarkable women writers and publish the powerful collection we have built together. Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:01 PST Mandy Van Deven, WireTap http://www.wiretapmag.org/stories/44717/ K Chronicles considers the 9-11 trials and our legal system. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_911trial_1260312923.jpg"> Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:01 PST Keith Knight, WireTap http://www.wiretapmag.org/education/44711/ An inner-city marching band helps students succeed and heals divides in New Orleans. <b><span style="color:blue;">Please Proceed in an Orderly Fashion</b></span> At first it seems like barely controlled chaos, as dozens of middle school students emerge from their practice rooms and descend on the food line, pouring into the dining room from adjoining hallways and stairwells. The cacophony of voices grows louder with each new surge of students arriving, and as plates of spaghetti are served from a huge metal pot, groups of friends gather over their meals to laugh and clown around, using exaggerated gestures to pantomime a marching band moving in double time. What's startling in this room of amped-up 9- to 14-year-olds is how many of these middle schoolers come from warring neighborhoods. Seventh Ward, Ninth Ward, Mid-City, St. Roch, New Orleans East -- all neighborhoods where gang activity and violent crime are as common as corner stores and bus stops. Crossing neighborhood boundaries can literally put your life <a href="http://www.soros.org/resources/multimedia/katrina/projects/GenKatrina/story_NeighborhoodViolence.php">on the line</a>. In this neutral space, however, neighborhood rivalries have been left behind. Kids feel safe leaving musical instruments, winter coats and backpacks unattended on tabletops or in corners of the room. Any posturing or aggressive behavior melts away under the attention of instructors, tutors and mentors. After all, these students don't come here with the intention of fighting. They have gathered here from all corners of the city in order to be part of one thing: the Roots of Music Marching Band. <a href="http://www.therootsofmusic.com">The Roots of Music</a> is a non-profit, free, year-round, music education program for middle school students in New Orleans. Derrick Tabb and Allison Reinhardt founded the organization in 2008. Tabb and Reinhardt come from different parts of the country and have different backgrounds, but they share a vision for a program that keeps kids off the streets, provides academic guidance and offers an invaluable set of skills that will help students achieve goals throughout their lives. Reinhardt, a native of New Jersey, worked in the music industry as a marketer and consultant, playing a vital role in helping musicians track down recovery grants after Hurricane Katrina. Now she is one of the few full-time staff members of the Roots of Music, working in the catch-all role of Program Director. Tabb, a native of New Orleans and member of the world-renowned <a href="http://rebirthbrassband.wetpaint.com/">Rebirth Brass Band</a>, modeled the program after a middle school experience of his own that he credits with helping him get through his formative years. "I was rebellious and getting into trouble," Tabb says. "My junior high band director took a special interest in me. I don't know why he did it, but he did, and it helped straighten me out." Similarly, Tabb and Reinhardt focus their efforts on students aged 9-14 years old, hoping to steer young people into creative pursuits instead of allowing them to get pulled or pressured into the illegal activities and violent cycles that loom so ominously in local street life. "I got tired of playing second lines at funerals," Tabb says, referring to the New Orleans tradition of musical processions and <a href="http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/multicultural/multiculturaltraditions/jazzfuneral.html">jazz funerals</a>. "I didn't want to see any more dead kids." So Tabb and Reinhardt joined forces and created the after-school and summer program. They decided that, to be effective, the program had to be accessible to students from all over the city, no matter what kind of disadvantages the students were working with. As a result, the program provides free instruction, free transportation and free meals every night. It also provides academic tutoring, musical instruments, marching band uniforms and free T-shirts. The guidelines were simple: no previous musical training is required, and no one is turned away. Tabb and Reinhardt had no idea what was about to happen. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_rom+class.jpg"> <b><span style="color:blue;">How Long Are Your Arms?</b></span> Helping a student choose their first musical instrument can be an interesting process. "A lot of it is determined by physiology," explains Allen Dejan Jr., a professional New Orleans musician and instructor. Dejan teaches all beginning students at the Roots of Music. He explains how such things as height, weight, mouth shape and even teeth help determine what instrument best suits a new student. For example, someone with short arms is at a disadvantage on the trombone. Someone with crooked teeth will have difficulty with reed instruments. A sousaphone can be heavy enough to crumple a small-framed ten-year-old. "It can be frustrating for a child at first, as they try to find the right fit," he says. In addition to providing an effective program for at-risk youth, Dejan sees the Roots of Music filling another important gap in the fabric of New Orleans culture -- the transfer of musical knowledge from one generation to the next. In the long wake of Hurricane Katrina, and with schools nationwide slashing budgets for the arts, middle school music programs are floundering or disappearing altogether. "That's a real problem in New Orleans," Dejan says. "You can see the quality of music declining." Dejan claims that without support at early levels of development, the entire chain of musical development is altered, and the effects can be seen in the remaining high school music programs. "It takes years to develop the specific muscles and skills to play brass instruments," Dejan explains. He sees the Roots of Music program stepping in and providing a vital resource for the whole musical community as well as for the students themselves. "I want music to enhance their lives," he says of the students, "and help them see that all is attainable." He explains that learning to play music is all about overcoming obstacles. "Learning an instrument is like finishing high school. Each day, they come here and learn a specific skill <a href="http://www.cae-nyc.org/sites/default/files/docs/CAE_Arts_and_Graduation_Report.pdf">(PDF)</a> that will help them get further along." <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_band.jpg"> <b><span style="color:blue;">If You Build It </b></span> Apparently that promise of hope hit a note that resonated all across New Orleans. With the help of the <a href="http://tipitinasfoundation.org/">Tipitina's Foundation</a> and the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic <a href="http://www.neworleansmusiciansclinic.org/">(NOMC)</a>, Tabb and Reinhardt organized their first class in June of 2008. They used word of mouth to spread the news. Tabb arrived at the classroom, expecting to find perhaps a dozen or so students. "There were 42 kids," he says, his voice still ringing with surprise. "The next week, there were 65. And the next week, there were 100 kids in my class." Without a single advertisement, in less than a month, word had spread faster than a drum roll and students were arriving from all over the city for a chance to be a part of it. "The kids are hungry for this," Reinhardt says. "They want something better." Reinhardt, whose own son attends the program, explains how more than 35 schools across the city are represented in the band roster right now. In addition to the musical training, the academic tutoring has enabled some 85 percent of participants to rise an entire letter grade in school. Students routinely bring in their report cards, and Roots instructors have even been known to drop in on schools to keep tabs on academic progress. The only downside of the program is that there is not enough financial support to accommodate all of the young people who want to be part of it. With program resources stretched to the limit, Tabb and Reinhardt had to make the heart-wrenching decision to put a cap on enrollment at around 100 students. "It's terrible," says Reinhardt. "Right now, we have a waiting list of over 400 kids who want to get in." <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_horn+instruction.jpg"> That being said, the founders, staff and team of volunteers have done a remarkable job at rallying community support for the program. Small grants have arrived from the city, music organizations and local foundations. Tulane University now provides academic tutors. The program has been able to forge partnerships with everyone from the <a href="http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/">Louisiana State Museum</a> (which is donating classroom space) to the <a href="http://www.myspace.com/cameltoeladysteppers">Camel Toe Lady Steppers</a> (an irreverent marching and social organization that helps organize fundraisers). Additionally, the Roots of Music has been recognized nationally for their efforts, with profiles in national print media and outlets such as National Public Radio. Derrick Tabb was a 2009 finalist for CNN's prestigious <a href="http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/archive09/index.html">Hero of the Year Award</a>. "We had no idea what to expect," Reinhardt says of the unprecedented success of the program's first year. "We just did it." <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_inner+city+marching+band.jpg"> <b><span style="color:blue;">Go Time </b></span> Dejan calls it the "miracle of playing and marching at the same time." With <a href="http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com">Mardi Gras</a> season just around the corner, the excitement in the air is palpable, and band directors have the task of teaching over 100 students to march in formation, regulate their breathing and judge their motion so they don't break rank while turning a street corner. New Orleans is one of the few places in America where it's cooler to be in the band than it is to be on the football team, and there is a long and proud tradition of marching bands performing at events, in fierce competitions, and, of course, in the mother of all street parties -- Mardi Gras. Bands like St. Augustine High School's "Marching 100," Warren Easton's "Golden Eagles" or McDonough 35's "Roneagle Marching Band" are legendary, with drum lines powerful enough to set off car alarms and brass sections that can launch a melody for miles. In the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras, it's not uncommon for traffic all over the city to grind to a halt as cars yield way to marching bands that have hit the streets for dress rehearsals and practice sessions. "These kids grew up in New Orleans," Dejan says. "They know the music and the parades, and they want to be a part of that." He believes that the students arrive at the doors of the Roots of Music for many reasons -- out of fear, boredom, to join their friends, at their parents request or even in search of a free meal -- but they keep coming back for just one reason: "They like what we're doing." "I'll be honest," Dejan continues. "We're hard on the kids. There's a lot of discipline required. But if you expect a lot out of them, they will deliver." <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_reginald+williams.jpg"> <b><span style="color:blue;">Run With It </b></span> The vision and guidance of Tabb combined with the vigilance and determination of Reinhardt have helped weave the Roots of Music program into the cultural fabric of New Orleans in an incredibly short period of time. The program offers a blueprint for communities across the country. "I've started something that I can't give up on," Tabb says. "If I see a kid who needs help, no matter what the problem is, I'm going to find 'em help." Tabb believes there's little a young person can't achieve if they're offered the right kind of support. He and Reinhardt both feel that they might have just landed on an idea that has the potential to do exactly that, and fill a vital gap in the social network of New Orleans. Their multi-faceted program provides a safe haven for young people, builds friendships and lines of communication that transcend territorial disputes, supports academic achievement, and provides students with skills and abilities that can help them overcome hurdles and achieve lifelong goals. "This is the perfect model for a program," Reinhardt says. "The great challenge now is getting enough funding to keep it going." Indeed, the program and the marching band have already gone farther than anyone imagined they could have in one short year and a half. They have hit the streets, traveled the region and grabbed national headlines. They have performed at everything from Mardi Gras parades to rock festivals. All in the pursuit of a simple dream: no more dead kids. (Photos: courtesy of <a href="http://www.therootsofmusic.com/">Roots of Music</a>.) {$media.0.html} Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:01 PST David Parker, Jr., WireTap http://www.wiretapmag.org/stories/44710/ The best money can buy, if you can afford it. {$media.0.html} Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:00:01 PST http://www.wiretapmag.org/stories/44705/ Strategies for job creation during economic recovery. <i>(This article originally appeared in <a href="http://www.campusprogress.org/cribsheets/4834/national-service-and-youth-unemployment">Campus Progress</a>)</i> Federal investments in our national service programs are an important way for Congress and the Obama administration to tackle high unemployment and growing poverty across the nation. The almost two-year-long Great Recession appears to be giving way to an incipient economic recovery, but job growth and wage growth will be slow in the months ahead. Providing short-term employment opportunities for jobless youth and helping to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations to transform participants' long-term career prospects would strengthen the economy and spur economic demand. This memo provides a brief snapshot of youth unemployment and its relationship to the Great Recession and federal anti-poverty services. It describes several national service programs -- including Youth corps, AmeriCorps, and VISTA -- that can be part of a strategy to reverse these trends. We also offer specific policy recommendations to maximize job creation by investing strategically in national service programs. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_service_table1.jpg"> <b>YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT</b> Youth are experiencing the greatest challenges finding work in the current job market. Rates of unemployment are directly related to age -- the younger you are, the less likely you are to have a job. Consider the statistics for <a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t07.htm">unemployment by age in October 2009</a>, the most recent available. Adults age 18 to 19 have the highest rate of unemployment, at 25.6 percent, and the rate decreases with every older age group (see table). Youth with <a href="http://www.bls.gov/web/cpseea16.pdf">less education</a> are experiencing more difficulty finding a job than those with more. The unemployment rate for youth 16-24 who haven't finished high school stands today at more than 30 percent. And unemployment adds to the financial pressure of having to pay back <a href="http://www.trends-collegeboard.com/student_aid/pdf/2009_Trends_Student_Aid.pdf">student loan debt</a> for those youth who have obtained a college education, which averages about $22,700. A significant number of <a href="http://www.bls.gov/cps/vets_current.pdf">young veterans</a> are sadly also finding scarce employment opportunities. Iraq War veterans, who are younger as a group than veterans of other wars, recorded an unemployment rate of 11.6 percent in October, which is higher than veterans of previous wars and more than the national average of 10.2 percent. And this unemployment data does not include the growing number of young people -- 219,000 in the 16-to-24 age range -- who have <a href="http://www.bls.gov/web/cpseea38.pdf">become discouraged</a> and given up on their job search efforts. Young people who initially cannot find a job often suffer consequences that follow them long after a recession ends. The reason: Time spent not developing work experience makes young workers less competitive for future job opportunities. Indeed, lifetime earnings are diminished with each missed year of work equating to <a href="http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1a/ba/6c.pdf">2 percent to 3 percent less earnings</a> each year thereafter. <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/~vw2112/papers/nber_draft_1.pdf">A study of college students</a> who graduated during the 1982 recession found that they were still earning less 8-10 years later than students who had graduated into a strong economy. <b>POVERTY SERVICES: YOUTH COULD BE OF HELP</b> Rising youth unemployment coincides with severe troubles for those organizations and agencies that provide assistance to poor and low-income Americans. The most recent Census data confirms what everyone seems to know -- poverty is on the rise. In 2008, <a href="http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf">39.8 million people</a> -- 13.2 percent of the population -- were living in poverty. A proposed alternative measure suggests even greater actual hardship with <a href="http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/povmeas/tables.html">one in six</a> Americans living in poverty. Using the official definition of poverty and adding in the near poor leads to a total of <a href="http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf">53.8 million</a> people who may be seeking assistance from the nation's non-profits and relevant government agencies. Current and projected unemployment rates suggest rising poverty over the next several years. <a href="http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/income_picture_20090910/">The Economic Policy Institute</a> estimates that the U.S. poverty rate will reach 14.7 percent in 2009, and that more than one in four children in the United States (26.6 percent) will be poor by 2010. These trends are not expected to reverse any time soon. Isabel Sawhill of the Brookings Institute predicts that without intervening action, <a href="http://www.campusprogress.org/cribsheets/4834/http/www.brookings.edu/opinions/2009/0916_poverty_sawhill.aspx">poverty will not return to its 2007 levels for another decade</a>. Yet nonprofit organizations' ability to respond to the growing need is now severely crimped by state and local government budget shortfalls, declining foundation funds, and a dip in individual charitable giving. <a href="http://www.cbpp.org/files/9-8-08sfp.pdf"> Forty-eight states</a> and 91 percent of <a href="http://www.mml.org/pdf/advocacy/city_fiscal_conditions_09.pdf">cities</a> are experiencing fiscal year 2010 budget challenges that affect public services and government grants to non-profits serving low-income residents. Sixty-two percent of surveyed <a href="http://www.cof.org/files/Bamboo/programsandservices/research/documents/09downturnreport.pdf">grant makers</a> said earlier this year that they expect their giving to decline in 2009, with nearly half (48 percent) anticipating a 10 percent or more dip in grant awards. Individual giving has historically decreased by an average of <a href="http://www.ruotoloassoc.com/Spotlight3-2008Final.pdf">3.9 percent</a> in inflation-adjusted terms during years marked by recessions lasting eight months or more. The upshot: The long and painful Great Recession means there is an increasing need for poverty services at a time when there are decreasing resources for government and nonprofit organization that provide these services. National service and funded youth workers can play a role in addressing these disparities. <b>NATIONAL SERVICE: A THREE-FOLD RETURN ON INVESTMENT</b> Investments in National Service programs such as AmeriCorps, VISTA, YouthBuild, and other youth corps programs deserve serious consideration as part of a national strategy to tackle unemployment, provide anti-poverty services, and strengthen our economy. These programs can prepare young adults for long-term employment opportunities in the public and private sector. National service programs create full-time positions that are -- in most cases -- jointly paid for by public and private resources. These entry-level public service positions pay a poverty-level living allowance or slightly more, and they come with health-care benefits, sometimes child-care benefits, and the opportunity for <a href="http://www.americorps.gov/for_individuals/benefits/benefits_ed_award.asp">Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards</a>, which help recipients pay for higher education, educational training, or student loans. National service programs are not designed as long-term career positions, but these national service jobs have historically helped boost job creation by providing opportunities for difficult-to-employ youth and recent college graduates, while also building nonprofit organizations' capacity to continue this important social service. <b><i>Youth corps</b></i> An estimated 1.4 million to 5.2 million youth are <a href="http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40535.pdf">out-of-work</a> and out-of-school, facing a desperate future. Youth corps are designed for this population, enabling youth to earn a General Educational Development high school equivalency certificate or a high school diploma while acquiring jobs skills training through service. The most common service projects are in conservation, urban construction, and human services, with a growing emphasis on "green jobs." YouthBuild is an example of a youth corps model that focuses on secondary education. YouthBuild members rebuild their lives while rebuilding low-income housing. Participants are 16 to 24 years of age and face multiple challenges. Most fared poorly in school and other programs that failed to provide a supportive climate for learning and development. Joining the program brings them into a community of caring adults and youth committed to each other's success while improving the conditions in their neighborhoods. And upon graduation form the program, they become members of a supportive alumni network for a lifetime. Youth corps <a href="http://www.abtassoc.com/reports/Youth-Corps.pdf">programs work</a>, demonstrating employment and earnings gains as well as reduced <a href="http://www.youthbuild.org/site/c.htIRI3PIKoG/b.4808023/k.70F9/Research_and_Policy_Papers/apps/nl/newsletter3.asp">arrest</a> and teen pregnancy rates. YouthBuild, in particular, boasts these successes: <ul> <li>More than 50 percent completion of GED or high school diploma requirements. </li> <li> Seventy-six percent are <a href="http://www.youthbuild.org/site/c.htIRI3PIKoG/b.1287531/k.6BF6/Demographics_and_Outcomes.htm">placed in jobs or go on to higher education</a>. </li> <li>Fifteen percent enroll in community in community or four-year colleges. </li> <li> Within <a href="http://www.youthbuild.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=htIRI3PIKoG&b=4806339&ct=1932891">seven years after graduation</a>, 75 percent were either in post-secondary education or in jobs with an average wage of $10 an hour. </li> </ul> Youth corps are supported by a variety of public and private funds, including the YouthBuild program in the Department of Labor, and AmeriCorps. Youth corps access more than a dozen other federal funding streams as well as state, local, and private funds. Yet most of these are small -- in the range of $25,000 to $50,000 -- which causes program directors to spend excessive time cobbling together resources from multiple sources. The lack of a substantial, stable funding base limits substantial growth and increases the per member costs of corps. The potential for expanding youth corps is great. YouthBuild programs alone <a href="http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/full_scale_ahead/">turn away</a> 14,000 young people each year due to lack of funding. And more than 1,800 community organizations submitted full applications to the federal government between 1996 and 2006, but three-quarters were turned down due to lack of funding. Other programs don't fill the gap. New, steady funding would enable the youth corps field to scale dramatically. <b><i>AmeriCorps</b></i> AmeriCorps engages recent college graduates and veterans in public service while also providing substantial funds for youth corps and other program models. All AmeriCorps members receive Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards when they complete their terms of service. These awards can be used to pay back loans or pay for college or graduate school. A majority of AmeriCorps members have at least some college experience, and the program has a strong track record of creating pathways to public service fields that are currently experiencing workforce shortages. As Baby Boomers leave the workforce, the non-profit sector will <a href="http://www.bridgespan.org/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=1488">lose</a> more than 50 percent of its current leadership over the next 10 years, requiring 640,000 new leaders. The federal government needs to hire <a href="http://www.ourpublicservice.org/OPS/publications/viewcontentdetails.php?id=137">more than 270,000 workers</a> for "mission-critical" jobs over the next three years, according to the results of a government-wide survey. At least <a href="http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/">23 percent of the public health workforce</a> -- nearly 110,000 workers -- will be eligible to retire during the next presidential term. And by 2020, we will need an additional 250,000 public health workers. The employment opportunities are an excellent match for recent college graduates who may be at risk of long-term underemployment. What's more, AmeriCorps does much more than provide temporary employment. Research shows that <a href=w/ac-study">alumni are more engaged</a> in their communities and feel more empowered and are likely to take action to seek improvements. And AmeriCorps graduates were <a href="http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/ac-study">substantially more likely</a> to go into public service careers than a comparison group in one study. Accelerated investment in AmeriCorps pays dividends in providing short-term employment and in launching young adults into public service careers that might otherwise experience substantial shortages. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_jobtraining.jpg"> <b><i> Volunteers in Service to America </b></i> VISTA participants -- about half of whom have <a href="http://www.americorps.gov/pdf/08_1210_ac_vista_report.pdf">some college experience</a> or a college degree -- build the capacity of non-profit agencies while receiving a poverty-level living allowance, health and childcare benefits, and Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards. VISTAs help nonprofits raise funds, develop new programs, build community partnerships, and recruit and manage volunteers. In short, they could greatly increase nonprofit organizations' capacity to serve low-income people affected by the economic downturn as well as the long-term poor. VISTA projects are intended to be sustainable after the term of service, and they often lead to the creation of new jobs in the nonprofit sector as well as the engagement of large numbers of volunteers to deliver services to low-income communities. For example: <ul> <li> <b>YearUp.</b> VISTAs have supported the expansion of YearUp, an innovative job training program for urban youth that prepares and places youth in IT positions that pay $15 an hour.</li> <li><b>LIFT.</b> VISTA provides start-up staffing for new LIFT sites, which draw college student volunteers to help low-income individuals find jobs and support. </li> <li> <b>YouthBuild USA.</b> Over sixty VISTA volunteers have been allocated to YouthBuild USA to build the capacity of local affiliates, including expanding its green jobs program. There were requests for 280 VISTAs from local YouthBuild programs and more than 1,600 individual applications for these 60 positions. </li> </ul> Approximately 7,700 individuals are serving in VISTA in positions supported through regular appropriations in 2009, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded an additional 3,000 positions. These workers have been in great demand in recent years. They are typically employed by small nonprofits that can only manage a few VISTA participants, but national groups such as Time Banks USA, the Cities of Service initiative, and other nonprofits, have developed a growing interest. Large organizations could deploy hundreds of VISTAs to focus on specific problems, such as job training, small business development in low-income communities, financial literacy, youth corps, and other programs that address the economic challenges of low-income communities. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS Congress and the Obama administration could substantially scale up AmeriCorps, VISTA, Youth Corps, and Youth Build with comprehensive federal support over the next 24 months. In the short term, Congress could invest approximately $625 million in supplemental FY2010 funds to create 42,000 jobs in these four national service programs in the next few months. Looking ahead, Congress could create an additional 60,000 positions in FY2011 with an additional $830 million in above-baseline regular FY2011 appropriations. Bottom line: for less than $1.5 billion, Congress could engage close to 150,000 individuals in national service for a one-year term of service at a cost of less than $14,000 per member. This strategy would create the equivalent of over 100,000 new jobs. This job growth could be accomplished by: <ul> <li> Accelerating the expansion of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act programs, which include expanded authorization to increase AmeriCorps to 250,000 positions by 2017. This increase could be implemented over a shorter time period if sufficient appropriations were made available, including a fund to relieve matching requirements for programs hard-hit by cutbacks in philanthropy and state and local public sources.</li> <li>Creating a new dedicated funding stream for youth corps to stabilize and expand the field. This dedicated funding stream could be implemented through the Department of Labor or the Corporation for National and Community Service. </li> <li> Expanding YouthBuild and creating a new Upward Pathways program extending the YouthBuild model to other fields. The CAP report, from <a href="http://www.campusprogress.org/issues/2007/04/poverty_report.html">Poverty to Prosperity</a>, recommends the creation of a new funding stream for an Upward Pathway program, designed to offer low-income youth the opportunity to engage in service and training in high-demand fields that provide needed public services.</li> <li>Creating a new national VISTA program and substantially increasing funding for VISTA. A faster ramp-up of VISTA can be achieved if national placements are accelerated. National placements provide large numbers of VISTA positions to national organizations, which in turn allocate them to organizations in their fields. </li> </ul> <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_service_table2.jpg"> AmeriCorps' ability to serve as a pipeline for long-term public service careers for today's unemployed youth could be enhanced by: <ul> <li>Providing AmeriCorps alumni with noncompetitive status for federal jobs. VISTAs and Peace Corps volunteers currently receive noncompetitive status, which enables federal agencies to hire them for vacant positions without a lengthy competition. This opportunity could be limited to full-time members, or to those from certain prequalified programs such as City Year, the National Community HealthCorps, the National Civilian Community Corps, and other full-time rigorous programs to make the numbers manageable. </i> <li> Providing modest funding of up to $2 million annually for leadership training and support for a strong AmeriCorps alumni organization. An AmeriCorps alumni program currently exists, but it has been substantially undercapitalized. The association could undertake programming to support employment of alums in public service jobs with relatively modest funding.</i> <li>Making the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award tax free. The education award is fully taxable, but cannot be converted to cash to pay the taxes. As a result, AmeriCorps alumni using the education award must find the resources to pay the taxes due -- a substantial hardship for disadvantaged members, including those serving in youth corps. This measure should have negligible costs based on past scoring. </i> </ul> <b>CONCLUSION</b> When President Barack Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act this past April, he summed it up pithily as "<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/21/A-Call-to-Service/">connecting deeds to needs.</a>" Yet national service is as much about unlocking potential as it is about meeting needs. It is not just a strategy to create short-term jobs, but rather a proven pathway to create long-term employment opportunities for youth who might otherwise remain jobless or employed in dead-end, low-skill jobs. In this sense, National Service encompasses three principles that form a <a href="http://halfinten.org/four-fundamental-principles">cornerstone of a comprehensive poverty-reduction strategy</a> and sustainable economic recovery that lifts up all Americans: <ul> <li>Promote decent work. </i> <li>Provide opportunity for all. </i> <li>Ensure economic security. </i> </ul> By connecting unemployed youth with opportunities to serve our country and our people, investments in national service can fill the needs not only of low-income Americans but also jobless young Americans. This policy solution also helps the economy overall -- putting people back to work creates economic demand that will help get the economy back on its feet. Download this memo (<a href=<a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/11/pdf/nation_service.pdf">pdf</a>) This article was originally published at AmericanProgress.org and is available <a href="http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/11/national_service.html">here</a>. Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:01 PST Melissa Boteach, Joy Moses, Shirley Sagawa, Campus Progress http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/44700/ Graffiti writers battle it out at Oakland's deFremery park. {$media.0.html}<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/7584752">Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle - Oakland 2009 Finals</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2544848">Estria Battle</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:00:01 PST Life is Living http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/44697/ <i>My America</i> is using art to change immigration policy. Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:00:01 PST Geoffrey Dobbins, WireTap http://www.wiretapmag.org/stories/44694/ Just in time for Thanksgiving. A humorous -- albeit problematic -- parody, just in time for Thanksgiving. {$media.0.html} Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:00:01 PST Current TV http://www.wiretapmag.org/stories/44688/ I am one of the millions lacking affordable health care. It's time for our country to get coverage for all Americans. The House recently voted 220-215 to approve the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/09/health.care/index.html ">Affordable Health Care America Act</a>, and the bill is now on the Senate floor for debate. If passed, the controversial health care reform bill would be the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/08/health.care/index.html">biggest expansion</a> of health care coverage since Medicare was created. The legislation would stop insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions, restrict insurance companies from charging higher premiums based on gender or medical history, and provide subsidies to those who cannot afford healthcare insurance. One of the most debated components of the bill has been the so-called "public option" -- a government-run affordable health care program similar to Medicare. Critics claim that such a program would <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/11/07/2009-11-07_health_care_reform_bill_nears_vote_in_house_amendment_restricts_abortion_coverag.html">cost too much</a> and the competition would force private insurers out of business. Angry citizens at town hall meetings have <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,539297,00.html">vigorously criticized</a> the public option component across the country. The majority of Republican and conservative House members are firmly against any type of public option. Citizens and politicians alike have <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/rep-blackburn-wont-pledge_n_355796.html?page=4&show_comment_id=34456311#comment_34456311">accused the president</a> and Democrats in favor of the public option of attempting to create a socialist-style, government-run healthcare system. While some Americans are wary of such healthcare plans, I am frightened to know that there are <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111651742">tens of millions of people</a>, myself included, living without access to affordable healthcare. There are millions of people just like me who have to go to the emergency room to get care because they lack insurance and can't afford a visit to a primary care doctor. The healthcare debate is a very personal subject for me. A few months ago, I had to go to the gastroenterologist because I felt a lump in my stomach. The doctor scheduled an appointment for a certain test I needed, but after learning the test would cost almost $900 dollars, I was forced to cancel the appointment. I can still feel the lump inside my stomach. I have not been able to afford the test yet. I'm angry but I believe our leaders and nation are ready to take a step forward. Previous generations realized that public education was necessary to allow greater social and economic participation in this country. I am hoping that our country will realize that the government has a moral obligation to provide health coverage to those uninsured citizens so they can have a fighting chance to live and contribute to this society. The government has supported wars and bailed out corporations. Now it's time for them to help their own people. I can't understand how companies like AIG who received taxpayer bailouts can pay over <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/business/15AIG.html?partner=rss&emc=rss">$165 million dollars in bonuses</a> to their employees, yet over 46 million people have no healthcare insurance. I am flabbergasted to know that the U.S. has spent over <a href="http://costofwar.com/">$702 billion dollars</a> on the Iraq war to bring democracy to another country while people in America are dying because they have no health care. Furthermore, Americans should not be restricted to just one healthcare system. Universal public healthcare should be available to all those who lack private health insurance. All Americans have a right to quality healthcare whether or not they can afford it. In order for this to come about, we need to pressure those corporate entities that are preventing access: insurance companies and HMOs. Please write your senator, talk to your neighbor. You can still make a difference for the millions like me that need care and have few options. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST Latricia Wilson, WireTap http://www.wiretapmag.org/environment/44683/ Climate Justice activists from across the globe come together to negotiate new rules on climate change. From December 7-18, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen to negotiate the next global climate change treaty -- and social movements from across the planet with be inside the talks and on the streets to demand a just solution to the greatest crisis facing our generation. {$media.0.html} Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:01 PST http://www.wiretapmag.org/stories/44681/ Young people have lost 2.5 million jobs to the crisis, making them the hardest-hit age group. Here's how some youth are coping. <i>(This story oringally appeared in <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091123/ratner"> The Nation</a>)</i> When David Thyme was an even younger man than he is today, his fantasies of early adulthood did not include a 9:30 pm curfew and a bed in <a href="http://www.covenanthouseny.org/">Covenant House</a>, a shelter for homeless youth. Then again, they also didn't include a recession so severe that his financially strapped father would ask him to help with rent -- or that when he couldn't find an entry-level job to do so, his father would ask him to leave home. "He was like, Son, you got to do what you got to do. I can't have you in my house," recalled the thin-faced 18-year-old from the Bronx. Shawn Bolden, an earnest 23-year-old from Harlem, also nursed a different vision of his youthful years. A graduate of Monroe College with a degree in criminal justice, he imagined dedicating his days to nurturing the minds of the next generation of neglected students, doing his part to solder shut the school-to-prison pipeline. But since losing his job teaching arts and college prep at a local nonprofit in June, he's been struggling to find his way back into the classroom, all the while worrying about feeding his newborn daughter And then there's Charles Channon. A 25-year-old graduate of George Washington University, he dreamed that his postcollege days would be devoted to an onward-and-upward career with an international development firm -- or at least a job with which to pay off $65,000 in college debt. "I wouldn't pretend that there's absolutely no conceit in me, but I do want to get out there and make the best difference I can," he said. So much for youthful fantasies. These are not happy days for America's young and striving. Indeed, as the economy has rocked and tumbled its way through 2009, spewing jobs like a sea-sick tourist, these have become very, very bad days. In September, the unemployment rate for people between the ages of 16 and 24 hovered morosely at 18.1 percent, nearly double the national average for that month. At the same time, the actual employment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds dropped to a startling 46 percent, the grimmest such figure on record since 1948, the year the government began keeping track. Taken together, this same group of young people has lost more than 2.5 million jobs since the economy began deflating in December 2007, roughly one-third of all the jobs lost, making them the hardest-hit age group of the recession. And it gets bleaker. Bad as the youth unemployment numbers are, the underemployment numbers are even more distressing, with young people once again taking the hit. During the second quarter of 2009, for instance, the underemployment rate for workers under 25 was an alarming 31.9 percent; for workers between 25 and 34 the underemployment rate was 17.1 percent. All of which suggests that for all this country's unbridled fascination with the glories of youth; for all the teen-lusting TV dramas, wunderkind "it" kids and peewee tech moguls, to say nothing of all the industries built on making the rest of us look and feel teen-queen young -- being a member of today's youth explosion isn't a particularly enviable position after all. "Young people under 30 have been far more affected than other groups in the economy during the recession," says Andrew Sum, professor of economics and director of the <a href="http://www.clms.neu.edu/">Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University</a>. "And the younger you are, the worse off you've been." The reasons for this are multiple and complex, but perhaps the one that young people cite most is their desperate new job competition: adults twice their age with college degrees and decades of experience are now applying for entry-level positions. Moreover, those young people lucky enough to have found work often fall prey to the old "last hired, first fired" syndrome, putting them right back where they started. The result is that young people are not only working less than at any time since the Great Depression but could suffer the consequences deep into their individual and collective futures. "These effects are long-lasting; they're not short and measly-lasting," explains Sum, citing several studies suggesting that a slow employment start can have long-term consequences. In the case of white male college graduates, for instance, an influential study showed that for as long as fifteen years after college, those who graduated into the recession-rocked economy of the early 1980s earned less than those who graduated into a sunny employment market. Equally disturbing: those who work only part time when younger, as so many young people must now do, see little benefit to their future wages compared with those working full time. "We are throwing out of the labor market those kids who will benefit the most from the work experience they get, and they will lose that for the rest of their lives," Sum warns. "That's why it really is a depression for young workers. And I don't use that word lightly." <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_jobsearch.jpg"> This was not the graduation party that most young folks imagined when they daydreamed about their liberation into early adulthood. It's certainly not the champagne-and-streamers rager that millennial boosters and other youth gurus anticipated when they dashed off all those messianic star charts predicting that this new wave of young folks would usher in the next epoch of dreamers and do-gooder types: the next Great Generation. And yet, bleak as the current climate is, the story behind the statistics is also far more complicated -- and, in some ways, uglier -- than many of the recent apocalyptic pronouncements about a "lost generation" and "dead end kids" would suggest (see <i>BusinessWeek</i>'s October 19 cover story and the September 27 <i>New York Post</i>, if you dare). Certainly there are scads of lost young souls roaming the aisles of job fairs, cluttering unemployment offices and weighing whether it's more important to pay the electricity or the phone bill. But in this generation of 80-odd million, some people are far more lost than others, while some have the luxury of not being lost at all. Quite simply, the real danger of the recession is not necessarily a lost generation of unemployed millennials so much as a Swiss cheese generation where the places once occupied by the least affluent -- particularly the least affluent people of color -- have simply been carved out. "I hope people are really clear that this is not an equal-opportunity recession, that it's hurting the weakest," says Dedrick Muhammad, senior organizer and research associate for the Institute for Policy Studies Program on Inequality and the Common Good, who has done extensive research on the recession's disparate, and decidedly <a href="http://www.thenation.com/images/special/youth-unemployment.png">racial, impact</a> (graph) on the people of this country. Once again, the data help tell the story. As reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in early October, young African-American teens between the ages of 16 and 19 have an unemployment rate of 40.7 percent, while young Latinos of the same age are unemployed at a rate of nearly 30 percent -- both drastically higher than the 23 percent unemployment experienced by their white peers. Among 20- to 24-year-olds, the disparity is even more dramatic: while young white workers in their early 20s have an unemployment rate of 13.1 percent, their African-American compatriots are unemployed at the rate of 27.1 percent, more than twice as high. Or as Sum summarizes, "If you are both low-income and black or low-income and Hispanic, you have lost the most. And if you are young, affluent and a woman, in terms of just labor market studies, you've done OK... although across the board everybody has lost." These losses have stacked up quickly, but today's great youth crisis didn't happen overnight, the sudden result of an immaculate recession. For young workers -- and in particular young, low-income and workers of color -- the struggle began long ago, with the changes that began refashioning the economy as far back as the 1980s: the decline of unions; the long, slow death of manufacturing; the rise of the service economy; and the near-total disappearance of proactive government policy. The last decade in particular, with its post-dot-com recession followed by a jobless youth recovery, has been particularly bruising. The result of all this has been that many of today's young people -- again, especially the poor, those with less education and people of color -- have a measurably harder road to travel than their generational elders, according to "The Economic State of Young America," a report (<a href="http://www.demos.org/pubs/esya_web.pdf">PDF</a>) published in spring 2008 by Demos, a New York-based research and advocacy organization. Between 1975 and 2005, for instance, the typical annual income for workers between the ages of 25 and 34 decreased across all educational brackets, with the exception of women with bachelor's degrees. Men without a high school diploma suffered most, their annual income plummeting by 34.2 percent, while men with a high school diploma or the equivalent earned the runner-up slot, with an income drop of 28.5 percent. As for women, those with less than a high school diploma, as well as those possessing just a diploma, lost less ground than their male counterparts; but then again, they're still doing worse than before and, perhaps more to the point, they still fare significantly worse than men their age. At the same time, today's young workers have had to do more with less. College tuition rates have skyrocketed -- in fact, rates for four-year public universities have more than doubled since 1980 -- with the unsurprising result that nearly two-thirds of students graduating from four-year colleges in 2008 left in debt. The cost of childcare now eats up as much as 10 percent of a two-parent family's income in many states (as much as 14.3 percent in Oregon). And young people between the ages of 19 and 34 are the most likely population to be uninsured -- not because they don't want health benefits but because employers don't offer them. A case in point: 63.3 percent of recent high school graduates had employer-provided healthcare in 1979, whereas just 33.7 percent had it in 2004. "What we're looking at is a situation where young people entered the recession already feeling the brunt of thirty years' worth of pretty gradual but nonetheless dramatic economic and social changes," says Nancy Cauthen, director of the <a href="http://www.demos.org/program.cfm?currentprogramID=5A043BA6-3FF4-6C82-5C547FEEEE8D4034">Economic Opportunity Program</a> at Demos. "The recession just made a bad situation worse." <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_waiting+in+line.jpg"> Thankfully, there's something of a pewter lining surrounding all this bleakness: not only are certain swaths of this generation among the most politically engaged in decades but the generation's politics in general trend decidedly toward the progressive. Indeed, many young people have already begun coming together, in protest and coalition-style advocacy, to push for everything from green jobs to increased bank regulation to state budgets that aren't balanced on students' backs (thank you, University of California protesters!). This is promising, since the list of much-needed solutions to young people's recession problems is long and daunting -- beginning, many researchers agree, with the need to create more jobs: green jobs, Job Corps jobs, public works jobs, even tax credit-induced jobs. However, these can't be just any old jobs; they must be jobs targeted toward young people, jobs for which employers are induced to hire the youthful, inexperienced and most vulnerable, because, as Sum says, "Very few kids are being hired by the stimulus." His solution: pull them into the workforce either through direct job creation, partial subsidies or targeted tax credits to youth-hiring businesses. Moreover, he advises, these jobs also must last longer than a brief six- to twelve-week summer fling. That's how long the roughly 284,000 summer youth jobs funded by the stimulus lasted, even though there is almost no evidence that a quickie summer job has any lingering effect on a young person's long-term prospects -- though there is evidence that summer jobs that extend into longer-term employment help quite a bit, according to Sum. But above all, these new jobs have to be far more plentiful and ambitious in scope than the ones created thus far, not the least because it will take years for the country to crawl out of the vast employment hole, roughly 10.7 million jobs deep, created by this recession. And while 284,000 summer youth jobs certainly represent an important start, they not only don't meet the current need but seem downright piddling compared with the nearly 1 million government-sponsored summer youth jobs that existed during the late 1970s. "This is classic of Obama's situation: Obama can double something or increase it 100 percent from the previous administration, but it's still so insignificant to the problem," explains Dedrick Muhammad. By contrast, he observes, "Wall Street's booming because the government took seriously their problems and did a massive intervention." Of course, even if a slew of youth jobs materialized overnight, it would only be the beginning, since, as Cauthen cautions, "the recession could end tomorrow and that's not necessarily going to mean a bright future for young people." For that, she and others have argued, this generation needs more systemic, probing change, including easier access to the protection of unions in the form of the Employee Free Choice Act, more affordable health insurance in the form of universal health coverage, childcare that doesn't decimate their paychecks. And that's just for starters. With these policies in place, the rising generation still has a chance at the starry future that's been predicted for it. Without them, well, just imagine the way things are now -- and then extrapolate. Two recent events in New York City illustrate the way the world is trending for two very different groups of young people -- the young and bailed-out versus the young and bailed-on. The first took place amid the brick-and-ivy greenery of Columbia University, in the world of the bailed-out. It was mid-September, and several hundred college students had packed into the school's Faculty House for an intimate evening with a team of Goldman Sachs recruiters. A year earlier, these recruiters probably seemed like a dying species, a herd of expensively dressed mastodons taking their valedictory spin, while the sober-suited students must have looked almost pitiable. But on this evening, the recruiters looked very much alive -- downright brash -- as they wooed the standing-room-only crowd of eager if anxious-looking students. Clutching brochures that urged them to "make the most of your talent," these students listened in unblinking awe as the recruiters spoke of their bank's "competitive advantage," its "global impact," the golden "opportunity" that awaited all Goldman employees, old and young. And in case the students missed the point, there was a promotional video, starring a comely squad of young analysts (all programmed, it seemed, to repeat the word "unique!"), that ended with the cultish mantra, "I believe, I believe, I believe in Goldman Sachs." It was as if it were 2006, not 2009, as if the good old days of overpaid young analysts with Town Cars and expense accounts were back again -- which, thanks to the government, they essentially are. "If you do well and you're ambitious, you really can do well," a handsome young trader of mortgage-backed securities promised a throng of students who'd gathered around him for advice. Meanwile, several weeks earlier, in a part of town not touched by bank bailouts, a very different scene played itself out in a Covenant House conference room. There, nine homeless New Yorkers between the ages of 18 and 20 -- among them, David Thyme -- huddled around a table topped with pizza and soda and shared their failed attempts at finding a job. All of them wanted one, but none had managed to find one despite months of scratching at the closed doors of just about every fast-food, retail and service joint in town. According to Jerome Kilbane, Covenant House New York's executive director, the organization's job training program has placed 40 percent fewer young people over the past year. "It's kind of discouraging when you go out and you come back empty-handed every day," said Samantha, a serious-faced 19-year-old who dreams of becoming a physical therapist someday but is currently so strapped for cash she can barely afford a MetroCard to look for a job. "I feel if I had a job I wouldn't be here," added Leonda, who is charismatic, chatty and also 19. "Not to say that this is a horrible place, but I'd be able to stand on my own two feet and live as an adult and be me." Samantha and Leonda, who are part of a wave of homeless young folks that has swollen the ranks of Covenant House's residents by 25 percent, expressed deep anxiety about their future. But they also knew their worth. When asked what they wanted to tell the people in power, Samantha didn't hesitate. "I say, We are your future. If we don't make it now, then who's going to take care of you when y'all is in y'all retirement phase?" she asked. "If we don't make it out of this, then basically the whole world don't make it out of this." Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST Lizzy Ratner, The Nation http://www.wiretapmag.org/arts/44676/ Intersection for the Arts' "One Day" exhibit counters misconceptions and celebrates everyday life in the Islamic Republic. Aerial views of nuclear test sites, armed troops, riot police attacking angry protesters, Ahmadenijad's sly grin and demoralized citizens -- these are the typical images Western media transmits from Iran. Our skewed channels paint Iran as a country to fear, full of anti-American extremists. We rarely see life in Iran outside of politics or war, the everyday people doing everyday things. A new group art show in San Francisco aims to change perceptions by celebrating the mundane and ordinary in the Islamic Republic. San Francisco's <a href="http://www.theintersection.org/">Intersection for the Arts</a> exhibit, "One Day: A Collective Narrative of Tehran," (running Nov. 4 through Jan. 23) features photography, sculpture and installations that reveal both ordinary and surprising elements of Iranian life. Featuring the works of eight Iranian artists living and working in Tehran, "One Day" documents daily life in Iran's capital city, which has an estimated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran#Demographics">population of eight million</a>. The exhibit demystifies what life is like in Iran and the Middle East, says Kevin B. Chen, program manager for literary, visual arts and jazz events at Intersection for the Arts. "A lot of people think they still ride camels there." <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_taraneh+hemami+neon.jpg "> Conceptualized by San Francisco-based artist <a href="http://www.taranehhemami.info/">Tahraneh Hemami</a>, she and Chen hope the exhibit will humanize Iranians and Middle Easterners. "These people have been bastardized by the media and, especially, our government," Chen says. "The media is showing us the extremists. It'd be like showing rednecks in Appalachia and broadcasting to the world that this is what America is like." Among the installations are pieces that capture the ordinary in the Islamic Republic, such as photographer Abbas Kowsari's triptych "The time is 24:00. This is Tehran." One photo depicts Tehran's smoggy skyline. The next sees police women dressed in full burkhas repelling from a police station wall during training. The final shot simply shows people walking. Though the exhibit wasn't meant to be political in its inception, it couldn't be helped. In the works for two years, some artists produced new pieces following the aftermath of Iran's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/world/middleeast/13iran.html?_r=1">disputed presidential elections</a> and its ensuing protests in June, Chen explains. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_tehran+building.jpg"> One of the standout pieces is Neda Razavipour's "Find the Lost One." The installation features a split-screen video of commuters entering and exiting a train station. The same video loops on both sides, except one person has been digitally "erased" on the right. According to the artist's statement, the piece is a commentary on <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/08/07/iran.executions/index.html"> the high number of government arrests, interrogations and executions</a> of civilians, protesters and journalists following the elections. It's a cynical, reverse "Where's Waldo?" game that's a little more frightening than it is fun when you realize that anyone can be a suspect. Saba Alizadeh's "Captured Breath" memorializes <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSDAH520298">the demonstrators who were killed</a> during the post-election protests. 72 holes are drilled into a wooden column to honor those who've been martyred. Lean in close to the tower and you can hear deep, heavy breathing to show their spirits are still with us. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_oneday01.jpg"> The exhibit's other installations include Hemami's "Turning Green," a laser-cut carpet shaped into a map of Tehran; the color green celebrates Iran's democracy and peace movement. Acting as an alternative mapping of the city's congested roads is Ghazaleh Hedayat's "Taxiography," featuring 77 ink drawings on pieces of notebook paper. Hedayat would hop into a cab, place her pen on the paper and allow the motion of the car dictate the movement of his pen. Not only do we see Iran within the walls of the gallery, we <i>hear</i> Iran, too. Nima Alizadeh's audio project, "This is Tehran, Voice of Islamic Republic," plays snippets on speakers in each corner of the room from various radio programs, recorded both before and after the elections. Excerpts from the audio are written in Persian script and placed on the gallery walls, ranging from extremist sloganeering such as "Muslim brothers and Muslim sisters! Oppose the enemy! Victory is close!" to random news clips such as "The U.S. Mint launched the first ever coin with an image of an African American." With a total of ten installations spanning multiple mediums, "One Day" transports us to Tehran, showing life beyond the nightly news broadcast. By focusing on individuals, we're able to see a people and country like any other -- average citizens going about their daily tasks without the extremist imagery that we're used to. The sights and language may be foreign, but it feels a lot like home. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST Zoneil Maharaj, WireTap http://www.wiretapmag.org/race/44672/ From the Freedom Riders to Wounded Knee, William Kunstler was one of the most controversial attorneys of his era. Disturbing the Universe is film about William Kuntsler, told from the perspective of his two youngest daughters. For a full list of upcoming screenings, visit the film's website: <a href="http://www.disturbingtheuniverse.com/Screenings.html">http://www.disturbingtheuniverse.com/Screenings.html</a> {$media.0.html} Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:00:01 PST http://www.wiretapmag.org/education/44669/ The Big Picture Learning Company structures high schools around the belief that kids learn best when they are doing what they love. In the world of American public education, this is nothing short of radical. It is a chilly Thursday morning in Rhode Island and the Met School's Media and Performing Arts Center is hopping. Eight seniors huddle in a corner of the black box theater, conferring excitedly. In a sound studio nearby, a shaggy-haired sophomore with headphones scrutinizes a computer screen full of musical notations. I peer through soundproof glass into the Center's conference room, where a group of colorfully dressed students sit around a seminar table. Clearly, something important is happening. Two students talk animatedly to the group, gesturing at a hand-drawn chart on the wall. The others hunch over their notebooks and scribble to keep up, and one girl trains a camcorder on the speakers. The teacher, a grandfatherly African-American man at the head of the table, watches the goings-on with a faint smile. The Met, short for the <a href="http://www.themetschool.org/Metcenter/home.html">Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center</a>, is a state-funded school district that serves roughly 700 students in six small schools across Providence and Newport, Rhode Island. It also functions as the prototype for the <a href="http://www.bigpicture.org/">Big Picture Learning Company</a>, a 14-year-old nonprofit that works to promote the Met's design and philosophy. To date, Big Pictures Learning has helped to open more than 60 public and charter high schools around the U.S., most of which serve at-risk teens and all of which follow a project-based curriculum. The organization's innovative approach has earned it a reputation for excellent alternative schooling as well as grants from funders such as the Gates Foundation. Curious about the scene unfolding in the conference room, I turn to Mike, the tireless 10th-grade "advisor" with whom I have been tagging along for a day and a half. He explains that the kids sitting around the table are a group of interns working for <a href="http://www.muzicone.net">Music One</a>, a company devoted to fostering youth talent and creating positive-themed music. The company's director, Terrell Osborne, comes to the Center two days a week to teach the group about the music business and to mentor them as they compose and work on their own music. Mike points to the girl with the video camera, one of the 15 advisees that began working with him last year as a freshmen and will remain with him until they graduate. "Angela's an amazing kid," he says. "She's one of the lead singers in the music video project that the group is doing, and for her individual project she's making a behind-the-scenes documentary about the process." Angela, a slender African-American with a radiant smile, catches sight of us through the window and waves energetically with her free hand. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_martialarts.jpg"> <b><span style="color:blue;">Real Work in the Real World</b></span> The masterminds behind Big Picture Learning are Dennis Littky and Elliot Washor, educators with a zeal for what they like to call "disruptive innovation." The two met in college and lived parallel but separate professional lives until they were given the opportunity by the state of Rhode Island to open an alternative public high school in Providence. There, they strove to build a model that realized their shared beliefs about education: first, schools should stay small; second, learning should be individualized and relationship-based; and third, traditional schools spend far too much energy trying to keep students in their seats. "I have always thought it's hysterical that inside the school building we work really hard to make lessons that look and feel real, when all the while, the real world is going on outside -- and it's filled with history, social issues, work issues, scientific exploration, math, writing, technology and everything else," Littky writes in his book, <a href="http://www.bigpicture.org/category/publications/"><i>The Big Picture: Education Is Everybody's Business</i></a>. "Why don't we just step back outside?" Accordingly, Big Picture Learning schools push students to pursue "real work" whenever possible. Academic classes, which occur only three days a week, emphasize depth and practical application. Instead of taking biology, for example, 10th grade students at the Met spend one afternoon a week working with education specialists at the zoo. Back at school, their advisors support them in documenting the skills and knowledge they gain from this work. Assessment at Big Picture Learning schools is equally unconventional. Four times a year, students prepare and deliver 45-minute "exhibitions" in which they share their work with a panel of students, teachers, administrators and parents. Students are evaluated on the quality of their work as well as demonstrated progress toward their individualized learning goals, which are determined at the beginning of each year. For the most part, feedback comes in the form of lengthy narratives rather than numeric grades. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_computer.jpg"> The <i>real</i> real work at Big Picture Learning schools takes the shape of an intense four-year-long internship program. During their fall semester, freshmen undergo training to prepare them for the rigors of working in the professional world, learning everything from telephone etiquette to resume-writing. At the same time, with the guidance of their home advisors -- teachers who "loop" with them throughout all four years -- they reflect on their skills and professional aspirations. "We want to get kids in touch with themselves," explained Washor in a recent interview. "We help them figure out what they love and then we support them in pursuing that." By the middle of their freshman year, the students are ready to get to work. Literally. They interview with one or more of the school's local businesses partners until they land a position to which they report on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the school day. Teachers spend these days tutoring students who are between internships and doing site visits in order to help their advisees prepare rigorous presentations about their work. Some students change internships every few months, exploring different careers and developing a range of professional skills; some find a niche where they stay for all four years of high school. <img src="/images/managed/Ads_multimedia.jpg"> <b><span style="color:blue;"> Students With Passion </b></span> Angela, the ebullient 10th grader with the video camera, describes herself as a Media One "lifer." She comes out to greet Mike and me after her meeting has ended, and when I ask about her internship she answers with unabashed pride. "I got involved with the group last year as a freshman," she says. "Back then I just did it after school, but as soon as I got in the recording booth I just fell in love. I knew this was the internship I wanted, and I'm sticking with it. There [are] so many opportunities and so much to learn!" Angela's enthusiasm echoes what I observed earlier this morning, when Mike and I drove off-campus to observe some of his other advisees at work. Our first stop was a martial arts dojo, where two students -- a brother and sister -- were learning karate and business management. They were in the middle of an intense warm-up session which involved coordinating their breath with their movement. After completing a difficult sequence, Mike's advisee Rafael turned and flashed us a thumbs-up. "Rafael's focus has completely changed since last year," Mike said afterward. "He used to be all over the place but now he's way more on the ball, even when he's doing math." Not surprisingly, Big Picture Learning schools tend to attract unconventional learners. For some, like Rafael, the incentive to leave the traditional system stems from a need for more individual support and a more hands-on curriculum. For others, traditional schools do not provide enough of a challenge. "I got straight A's in middle school, but I was bored because I had to sit through classes all day long and just do nothing," says one of Mike's other advisees. "Now I take classes at Brown University and I work at the attorney general's office for my internship. It's hard but way more fun." Littky emphasizes that the Big Picture Learning model is designed to ignite all students, regardless of skill level, with a sense of passion and purpose. "Ask anyone to name the single word that comes to mind when you say 'high school' and the answer will be 'boring,'" Littky says. "My goal is to make sure our kids love what they're doing." It certainly seems that they do. Back in the Media and Performing Arts Center, one of the other students from the Media One program, a petite Latina girl with dark eyes, joins Angela in the hallway. "This is my collaborator, Margi," Angela says, putting her arm around her friend. "We sing together, and this year we're learning to produce our own stuff -- you know, how to write and record music and the business side of it." Margi, short for Marginez, shakes my hand firmly and asks if I would like to go to the recording studio and hear her and Angela perform a song. Like so many of her peers, she is poised, confident and excited to share her work. "Of course," I say, and the two girls lead the way. <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_bp+learning+logo.jpg"> <b><span style="color:blue;"> Making the Grade </b></span> The design that Littky and Washor came up with has been successful on many counts. Overall, Big Picture Learning schools see 92 percent of entering freshmen <a href="http://www.bigpicture.org/2009/11/disrupting-high-school-failure/">graduate as seniors</a> -- an astonishingly high number compared to public schools serving similar populations. 95 percent of graduates are <a href="http://www.bigpicture.org/2009/11/disrupting-high-school-failure/">accepted</a> into college, many becoming the first in their families to pursue a higher degree. One of the nonprofit's recent initiatives involves supporting all graduates through their transition to college and beyond, and this year, in partnership with the Roger Williams University, the Met is even piloting its own <a href="http://www.projo.com/news/content/met_college_21_04-21-09_RBE3OJB_v9.36a9bac.html">internship-based college program</a>. Just as impressive is the satisfaction that students and parents express when it comes to Big Picture Learning schools. On the Rhode Island School Accountability for Learning and <a href="http://www.infoworks.ride.uri.edu/2009/charts/lsichart.aspx?SchType=3&SchID=28703">Teaching Survey</a>, the Met led the state in categories such as attendance, parent involvement, school climate and safety, and quality of instruction. Many of the organization's other schools, notably those in San Diego, Oakland, Detroit and the Bronx, have achieved similar results. A few, such as the campuses in Denver and Chicago, have struggled to establish themselves due to leadership turnover and unsympathetic local school-boards. Given its overall success, it seems odd that Big Picture Learning would fall off the map when it comes to making national headlines -- but it does. Washor explains the phenomenon as partly ideological and partly practical. "We're a philosophy and a practice, not a brand like <a href="http://www.greendot.org">Green Dot</a> or <a href="http://www.kipp.org">KIPP</a>," he says. "We don't spend our energy trying to market ourselves... and not all of our schools look alike. There are distinguishers that make a Big Picture school a Big Picture school, but we let each campus respond to the needs of its community. We're not about one-size-fits-all for kids, and we're not about it for schools either." Another factor that explains Big Picture Learning's absence from public dialogue is that the schools' standardized test scores, though acceptable, tend not to be as uniformly high as those at charters like KIPP. In the 2008-09 year, <a href="http://www.eride.ri.gov/reportcard/09/districtReportCard.aspx?schCode=60&schType=3">85 percent</a> of the Met's students were proficient in English and 55 percent were proficient in math. "We're not known for our scores," admitted Arthur Baraf, the principal at one of the Met's six schools. He and his colleagues have been working to revise the Met's approach to math, which has proven difficult to integrate into the school's model. When asked about the subject of standardized tests, Littky emits something between a growl and a sigh. "Could I do things to make our test scores go up? Yes. Do I believe that it's worth it? No," he says. "We have all kinds of data to show that our kids are thriving, and we're doing as well or better than local schools." Littky is known for being particularly outspoken, but the fact remains that the philosophy of Big Picture Learning stands in opposition to the movement for high-stakes testing and universal standards. "We're about standards, but not standardization," Washor explains. "We don't think it's realistic or productive to ask all kids to follow the exact same curriculum." <img src="/images/managed/Story+Image_horses.jpg"> Washor's comment gets at one of the most controversial aspects of the Big Picture Learning model: students do not graduate having followed the same curriculum or even having built the same across-the-board skills as their peers in traditional schools. Their education aligns them more with the professional world, where adults have deep expertise and facility in some areas and only perfunctory knowledge of others. This anti-uniformity, or what one teacher at the Met calls "productive chaos," represents a radical revision of what education should mean -- and a marked departure from the ideal that most schools around the country are striving to realize. "I care way more that a student is excited to go deeper in her exploration of the history of women in her native country than I do about that student's ability to answer every question on a standardized U.S. history test," Littky writes in his book. "Who wants a standardized kid, anyway?" For both its champions and its critics, the Big Picture Learning model raises important questions about the purposes of education. Which is more important -- depth or breadth? Can an "equal" education look different for different students? What constitutes the "success" for which schools attempt to prepare their students? While there are no easy answers, these questions are a critical part of what the late reformer Ted Sizer <a href="http://www.essentialschools.org/pub/ces_docs/about/org/execboard/ted_page.html">called</a> "the conversation that is reform." The only thing about which I feel certain, as I listen to Angela and Margi pouring their souls into their music, is that the Big Picture Learning model sets teenagers on fire in a way that few schools do. A cluster of students has gathered to listen and a few who know the composition mouth along with the refrain: "<i>Slow Down/ What is life worth living for/ If you never get the chance to see what lies before you?</i>" Angela and Marginez and a few of the others linger in the recording studio after the performance, describing the process of composing the song and asking me about my job. "What are you writing about? Why did you become a journalist? How do you take notes so you don't forget what people say? How do you like the Met?" Nobody is forcing these students to talk in turn or to ask probing questions; it comes as a natural outgrowth of their respect for each other and their curiosity about the world. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST Sarah M. Fine, WireTap