Reality Check Online

by Nijah Valencia Keye

 

Many have heard about the movie “Precious” based on the book Push by Sapphire. This past November, members of Sister Sol’s Soul & L.I.F.E. and Soul Apoyo chapters took a trip to see “Precious.” Before going to see the film, we read the book Push. The film is an uplifting, breathtaking movie about the need to overcome one’s obstacles. It is about a Harlem teenager named Clareece Precious Jones, who is the victim of incest. Precious is impregnated by her own father twice, and as if being raped by her own father was not bad enough, Precious also suffered physical and emotional abuse from her mother, played by famous comedian Mo’Nique. Precious, who can neither read nor write, and is constantly teased because she is fat, must find a way to break through.

 

When Precious is kicked out of school for being pregnant, she entered Each One Teach One, an alternative school. There, she learned to read and began to use writing as an outlet for her emotions, with the help of an inspirational teacher named Ms. Blue. Later in the film, Precious finds out that she was infected with the HIV virus by her father. Upon finding this out, Precious believes no one has ever loved her, or ever will love her. Through the support of her new friends at the Each One Teach One alternative school, Precious soon learns that her life is full of love: her teachers and friends at Each One Teach One love her, and most especially, her new baby boy loves her, and as his mother, she must return his love in the best way she can.

 

Precious confronts very serious issues that affect many people in urban communities. Teen pregnancy is one such issue. According to the CDC, the rate of teen pregnancies in urban areas is rising. When teens become pregnant, they might react in a couple of different ways: either they don’t take it seriously enough, or automatically they think that their life is over. Well, not Precious. Even though Precious went through so much, she kept pushing forward and did what she needed to do to get her baby back, and so that her and her children can live a better life. This goes to show you that with hard work and the strength to carry on, anything is possible. Precious wasn’t raised in the best home environment and because she didn’t have the best, I believe she wanted her children to have the life she always wanted. I honestly believe that Precious’ true inspiration was her own mother. If it had not been for her mother’s neglect, she might not have been so strong-willed.

 

by Anthony Keller

 

In the summer of 2010, the International Study Program of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol will travel to Ghana, South Africa. During the month-long study there, students will share in a variety of physical experiences in order to better understand the history and culture of Ghana. Often what we learn about history in school is unbiased and not the truth. So the information we will learn will give us a true understanding of a place that is often stereotyped. Ghana is filled with diverse culture, much of which is not shown or taught in schools. Ghana is also the place where one of the largest markets of enslaved Africans existed. This chance to study overseas will give us an opportunity to experience firsthand what most people can’t - what it’s like to live in another country. The wisdom gained can be used in life. In school the knowledge learned can be used to provide context and deepen our historical understanding. The experience can be shared to widen others’ knowledge.

 

To be accepted to the International Study Program, all potential applicants must write a 300-word essay. They should also include what their talents are that would help on the trip, their goals and what they plan to learn, as well as reasons they would like to attend. After the group is decided from the applications, they begin taking one class per week for the 6 months leading up to the trip, starting in January and ending in June. The classes cover information about the country’s history to current events that could affect our stay. They will learn the native languages and what they will be doing while in Ghana. During this time, the attendants must apply for and receive their passports and other requirements such as shots before the trip. Although the trip is fully paid for by The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, students must fundraise during the planning months to offset the cost of food, lodging, transportation and other costs.  

 

     
When they return from the trip, students are required to write a report on their experience during the month-long trip. This includes what they liked and disliked, their observations, as well as what they learned. After written, they present it as an oral presentation for the Summer Liberation School participants. Overall, the International Study Program is an experience is unlike any other. From the places visited to the daily workshops, you are given not just a better appreciation of what’s available to you in America, but it can also broaden your view on the world.

 

by LaShae Adams

 

I’ve had the opportunity to travel on two International Study Program trips with The Brotherhood/Sister Sol. I went to Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic in July 2008 and Brasil in July 2009. The trip to Brasil had a lasting effect on me. While visiting certain parts of Brasil, I saw homeless street children begging for food and money. It brought tears to my eyes and my heart went out to all of them. Being away from home helped me to appreciate the beauty and strength of other cultures, as well as all the things that I have in my life.

 

While in Brasil, I also had the opportunity to spend a week in a quilombo. A quilombo is an area of land that was founded by Africans who escaped enslavement. Many who live in the quilombos today practice many of the traditions used by people who lived there hundreds of years before. Staying at the quilombo was like meeting a piece of my history and finding a piece of myself I never knew was there. Brasil is one of the countries of my ancestors. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to travel there.

 

The experiences we shared traveling abroad with the International Study Program are ones that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Below, three former ISP members reflect on what their journey meant to them.

 

Reflections From Past ISP Members

 

In all honesty, ISP trips changed my worldview, and helped me to see my role in the international struggle against the oppression of people of color. How can two trips do this? It is because by traveling you begin to witness the oppressions that do not only exist in the U.S. They are based in systems of white supremacy, among other problematic ideologies, and these views are propagated worldwide. This is a depressing realization, and trust that I went through a lot in the process during which I traveled. But in this process I found a love and appreciation of peoples of the African Diaspora and a desire to work toward solving our problems. After traveling to Brasil in 2006 and Ghana in 2007, I realized that there were many different places I could call home, and while none of these homes were exactly like mine, the aura, the foods, the dances and the faces were similar enough to excite a butterfly-like fluttering in my stomach, a hastening in the beating of my heart and unrestrained emotions that always occur when I am on my way home.

 

I absolutely loved my ISP experience. I cannot ever fully proclaim how much they’ve changed, because attempting to explain emotional responses and month-long experiences that change your life in many unspoken ways is a task that I am not yet equipped to do, and often words are not my forté. Even so, my life and my identity have been greatly affected by my ISP experiences. I am a Haitian Brooklyn girl and always will be. To this foundation, I’ve grown to add organizer, photographer, dancer, and writer, among other things. I was reintroduced to my love of artistic expression through international travel. I was introduced to a world of pan-African appreciation, and a passion for travel, too. I will be traveling back to Bahia as a part of my university’s study abroad program, which I will be doing in January. Ghana birthed my dream of traveling to 50 countries in South America and Africa. Through traveling, I have found an inexplicable calmness, a quest for understanding, and a love of diverse groups of people. These have all influenced not only my future plans but my daily life.

 

My biggest wish is that more and more people travel with ISP. Live, learn and fall in love in and with another country; it is truly a process of awakening and a chance at building across seas, across differences and against the powers that wish to separate us all. - Marsha Jean-Charles, ISP 2006 [Brasil] & ISP 2007 [Ghana]

 

 

Brasil was a beautiful place. It was sad to see the disparities and children my age sleeping on the streets and begging for food. As a homeless teen in America, we have much more help and services, whereas in Brasil the people don’t have the help that we have. This trip to Brasil was a trip that brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. - James McMichaels, ISP 2009 [Brasil]

 

 

I really enjoyed the trip to Brasil. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity that should be seen as a great honor to be a part of. - Kailani Capote, ISP 2009 [Brasil]

 

 

 

by Marsha Jean-Charles

 

Many of my closest friends and neighbors do not have health care insurance. They, like I at times, have suffered varying levels of pain when managing an illness without sufficient treatment. With my mother’s employment, I have been fortunate to have health care insurance for much of my life. Because of this I have gotten medicine, tests and other treatment that I have desperately needed to deal with my asthma and get accurate assessments after two cancer scares.

 

In my world as a 21 year-old Black woman from Brooklyn, health care insurance seems to be the marker of a healthier and more secure lifestyle. The fact that 30% of people my age and their family members do not have health insurance is frightening.  Furthermore, the reality is that a large portion of this group has either never had health insurance, or have gotten kicked off their families’ insurance once they have turned nineteen. This implies that they will begin their adult life not having the capacity to truly take care of themselves as they work hard and try to attain their dreams. These same people are from marginalized communities and are of the population already at high risk for heart disease and other illnesses. This is a daily problem many people in my family deal with. This reality is scary and disheartening. How are we to succeed and attain this country’s promises if we are too sick to do so?

 

Change in the health care system has been long overdue. I am not sure if the necessary change will be fulfilled with this new legislation, but I remain hopeful. Healthy living is a human right; health insurance and access to proper treatment and facilities are means toward more Americans receiving that right.

 

by Moussa Sidibe

 

“I had no choice.
I didn’t want to do it.
I didn’t want to do it.
But I had no choice.
That’s it, I thought.
I’ve changed,
I’m a different person.”

Human trafficking is the practice of people being tricked or forced into prostitution with little to no pay.  Human trafficking is a big international problem, happening in countries around the world, including Bolivia, Cambodia, Ecuador, Jamaica, Kuwait, North Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Venezuela, and the United States.  It has many features of slavery which is mostly illegal in countries, but nothing is being done.  Things such as prostitution, forced labor, and selling children are done. It is terrible and it’s even more shocking that it hasn’t been stopped.

 

You might be surprised by the last country I mentioned, but it’s true.  Many people in this country, especially women, are affected by trafficking, and it’s amazing that many people don’t know that it is happening.  Every morning, a large number of women across the United States wake up knowing that she will be forced into sex.  You may think to yourself “These women are stupid. Why don’t they just resist, or tell the cops, or something.”  It’s harder than you think. One reason why it’s hard for them to resist, or run away and report it, is because they are dependent on and often under the control of someone else, and are often drugged. They never know the person they’re having sex with. It’s always an anonymous customer.  Afterward, they rarely see the person again.  The victims never know the name of the person they’re having sex with, or any other information.  The person just pays to have sex with them and they will never see them again.

 

Before last month, I never knew anything about human trafficking. I never even knew that the term existed. When I first heard it, I thought it had to do with cars. On November 10, 2009, I, along with the members of the Strive to Thrive chapter at Mott Hall High School, visited the Journey exhibit with our chapter leader Enmanuel Candelario. The Journey exhibit was on display for just five days, from November 10th through November 15th in New York City, in Washington Square Park. It was created by Emma Thompson, an Academy Award-winning British actress. As a community activist, she decided to focus her awareness campaign on human trafficking, because she wanted people to know about it and how wrong it is. In an interview about the exhibit, she made a good point that stood out to me.  She said human trafficking is a much easier crime to commit than dealing with drugs or weapons: “You can make $150,000 from one girl in a year, because moving people around the place is easier than moving guns around.”  It’s true and makes the situation even more difficult to change and the criminals harder to catch.

 

Visiting the Journey exhibit was an amazing and disturbing experience. It made you feel like you were in that person’s shoes. It was told like a story. First, you walk in and see images from the person’s childhood.  There are words on top of a keyhole and when you look through the keyhole, you can see dolls describing the words. Then, you enter a room where there was a very dirty bed with condoms all around the place.  There were pills, lipsticks, and other dirty things.  There was also this room that had a very bad smell.  The smell was the mixture of vomit, semen, and other types of things. It impacted me in a big way because it was shocking and interesting at the same time.  I had never heard of trafficking before, and now I understand so much.

 

An organization involved in fighting against human trafficking is Covenant House, which is a large private funded childcare agency in the United States providing shelter and services to homeless and runaway youth.  Another organization is Safe Horizon, which assists survivors of human trafficking with shelter, access to public benefits, and many other things. City Bar Justice created a project to assist women and children of abusive parents and victims of human trafficking. Find out more about what these organizations are doing to fight against trafficking by visiting http://www.humantrafficking.org.

 

by Barrington Roberts

 

In the summer of 2009, I traveled on an amazing trip to Thailand. Through the International YMCA Global Teens Program, around 250 teenagers were given a chance to have an experience unlike anything we ever imagined. We were charged with the awesome responsibility of building a YMCA Learning Center in Chaing Mai, Thailand. The numerous days of training, which included meetings that would allow us to become engaged in the culture and the practices of Thailand. Most teenagers between the age of 14 and 18 don’t have the opportunity to travel out of the country to the other side of the world, without parents, and with two, down-to-earth group leaders.

 

The trip from New York to Thailand was a journey in and of itself, taking a total of 28 hours, including stopovers and flight time. We quickly learned that we were in for the time of lives. We jumped directly into the first activity right after our first Thai meal. The first day of the trip was spent getting to know your roommate and group, as well as exploring the commercial marketplace, also known as shopping. The malls in Thailand were similar to the malls in America, with high-priced name brands, sporting good stores, and a food court.

 

After a short while, we learned that it was time to get to work. Our group set out to begin. Our first task was to move over 200 bricks to one spot. Next we had to prepare the cement for the foundation. Manually mixing cement was by far one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, because of the torture it puts on the body. After four long, hard nine-hour work days, we finally finished building something that would be useful to the Thai children.

 

We felt an overwhelming mixture of success and exhaustion. We completed the task at hand, building an YMCA Learning Center from the ground up, with blood, sweat, and some tears. We accomplished what we first thought was impossible. That was the most important part of the Global Teens experience: feeling good about what you accomplished in another country, with people that soon become your family. Thailand was an unforgettable experience.

 

by Alberto Alcantara

 

Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the tilt of the earth’s axis is farthest away from the sun. It is also the point at which the days begin to lengthen and the nights get shorter. This usually occurs around December 21st or 22nd. Winter solstice is also a time of celebration to many people in different cultures, because solstice stands for the idea of rebirth and renewal.

 

At The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, we think of Winter Solstice as a time when we can relax, have fun, and reconnect with each other. Winter Solstice is open to everyone in the organization: staff, the elementary school kids, the teens, as well as their parents, friends and other family.

 

This year, our Winter Solstice Celebration took place on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009. There was music, food, performances and much more. What felt like hundreds of members and their family gathered together in our brownstone to celebrate the coming of the New Year. After we ate delicious food, everyone got together on the first floor to watch the Talent Showcase, which has become a tradition at every Winter Solstice. Damond, who is a chapter leader and boxing instructor for teens, was the host and the master of ceremony, and in addition to introducing each performer, he would tell funny jokes that had everyone laughing. Some highlights from the performances were LP alumni Leslie, Sherelle, and Zakeya, as their band Seven Little Kitties; elementary schoolers Zoe and Makia sang “A Kid’s Life,” and Rashad, also known as “Young Bread,” performed a hip hop tribute for The Brotherhood/Sister Sol called The Bro/Sis Anthem.

 

Click here to listen to The Bro/Sis Anthem, written, produced and performed by Young Bread a.k.a. Rashad Tucker, and members of the Teen After School Program Studio Class.

 

Members of the Writers Collective performed selected writings and Christian from the Elementary After School Program brought the house down with a dance tribute to Michael Jackson.

 

Winter Solstice at The Brotherhood/Sister Sol was something to go and see. Many parents came to see the celebration, and members worked hard on their performances. Overall, winter solstice was a great celebration, and it’s going to be even better next year.

 

by Ariana Hammonds

 

On January 12, 2010, at 4:53 p.m., a 7.0 average earthquake hit Haiti. The earthquake was so severe, it broke buildings, houses, and much more. About 200,000 innocent lives were lost. Buildings crashed on top of people. On the news, they found a man under one of the buildings, and he was under there for one and a half days. I can’t believe he survived!

 

I’m glad that some schools and some countries are donating money, water, and food to them so they can get better. I feel very sorry for them because they barely had anything. Now since the earthquake, it has gotten ever worse. If I were there, I would love to help them with cleaning up and doing my best to help feel safe even if things go wrong. I would be happy to contribute and do my part to help them. I wish and hope they get better.