Hello,
Back with an update on our work this past week in the 4-H youth CAN. This week, which was also Independence Day, or better referred to as 4th of July, was one of planning and strategizing on our main goal which is addressing racism. Our main focus was highlighting systemic racism and how it is perpetuated, in particular, in Buffalo, and consequently in the country at large. We settled on three main areas that we wanted to focus on: Food, Education, and housing. These three sectors of our community are tantamount in making or breaking the future of these youth as well as their present and so it is important that they are aware of the prejudices that exist in these areas.
We first wanted to assess the youth’s breadth of understanding regarding racism with respect to these three sectors and how it involves them on an individual basis. We thus created a short survey to this end that sought to not only help us gauge their interaction with racism and its accompanying nuances but also get them thinking about systemic racism in society at large through these three key areas.
During the school year, the various youth embarked on various projects in their various schools in addressing the issue of systemic racism. One such project was students from a majority African-American school visiting a school of majority white students. In doing so, they were able to identify the stark differences in the structure and amenities and overall resource contrast between the two schools. They then proceeded with inviting stakeholders of their school, which included parents, to a tour of their school and highlighting the areas that needed improvement. This helped to bring to light systemic racism on a level their interact with.
With this in mind, we hope to build off of that and collaborate with them in engaging in further projects that highlight inequalities brought about from systemic discriminations and find ways to solve these issues in a collaborative manner and to understand that we all have a part to play in creating a better world for ourselves and others. Through the thoughtful planing of my colleagues and I, we endeavour to make meaningful experience throughout this summer that will equip these youth with the capabilities to engage in cross-racial dialogues in their families, communities, schools, and beyond.