The PA Mixtape

ashleypala:

“The ultimate test of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and moments of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and moments of controversy.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

I preface this description of our Public Allies Los Angeles MLK Jr. Service Day because I believe that the allies and myself were simultaneously inspired and challenged throughout the day. As some Californians may gasp at the levels of rain we experienced this week, that did not stop the droves of individuals who came out to participate that Monday morning. Initially, we planned on celebrating Dr. King’s legacy with a day of service with a slew of outdoor activities at Van Nuys Middle School. However, with a quick change of plans, project activities included paint touch-us and murals around the middle school and faciliating project based activities for the younger volunteers.

Let me provide some background information. We decided to partner up with L.A. Works for this particular service day. L.A. Works is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, volunteer action center that creates and implements hands-on community service projects throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Working together with hundreds of nonprofit partners, large and small businesses throughout Los Angeles, and tens of thousands of committed volunteers, L.A. Works has made a significant, visible and lasting contribution to Los Angeles. We believe in the work that they do and have partnered with them for previous service days.

The day started off early with the arrival time for allies at 7am sharp. Following a brief introduction and some continential goodies, allies were split up in their respective groups of campus revitalization and youth organizing. With over 30 volunteers and 100 youth, it was a pretty good turn-out. At that moment, we noticed that there were a lot of media outlets within the vicinity, and it made us all question their presence. One of the L.A. Works representatives informs us that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would appear at the middle school in order to survey the work we were doing and to speak to the volunteers and students about the meaning of service.

Challenge #1 - Here we have a group of approximately 100 youth who are excited about meeting Mr. “I’ll Be Back” Himself. On another hand, you have a group of young social justice-minded individuals who have a few choice words for our “Governator”. However, as we talk about in the Public Allies training space, I will communicate my viewpoint from an “I” and not “we” perspective. Whether it comes from a place of confusion as to why this individual is asking young people what “service” means to them, his service to these students is to invest in the prison system rather than their education. Yes, I understand that the Governor is planning to increase funding in education, but for someone who has been in office for six years and he decides in his last term to do something about education, I have to question that. For someone who has increased prison spending by 88% and education spending has decreased by 9%, I have an issue with that. Conflict of interest? I am not sure. But the students were very excited to see “The Governator”. Many students gasped and relished at the idea of being able to shake the hands of the man who made promises to “terminate those who do not promote service”. Tongue and cheek, I know. I digress, let’s continue :)

I Have A Dream Activity- For the youth who attended the service day, we had them do a number of activities. Youth were asked to create projects around what their dreams and aspirations were as young leaders. For the older students, they were asked to map out their aspirations and dreams, whereas the younger students were asked to think about what they would be when they grew up. Various answers from the older group of students included “President of the US”, “The Governor”; younger students were shooting the stars. My favorite answers included “Doctor”, “Vet” and “Cowgirl”. :)

Hands For Freedom Activity- Following, each student was asked to take a piece of construction paper and trace their hand and cut it out. Volunteers then took their multi-colored hand and taped it to the wall. By the end of the activity, the youth were asked what the representation of the different colored hands meant. As many of the students pointed out, Dr. King didn’t only ask for the help of older individuals in the Civil Rights Movement but relied heavilty and was inspired by the dedication of the young people. As Dr. King put it, “Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve.” Regardless of what color you are or your background, everyone deserves freedom and a right to serve.

Freedom March Activity- Some of the material may have been slightly advanced for some youth, but a clip was shown to the youth about the importance of the 1963 March on Washington that took place in the Civil Rights Movement. A moment in history where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his renowned “I Have A Dream” speech, the march was organized by a group of labor unions, civil rights and religious organizations under the theme “Jobs & Freedom”. Shortly following the video, the youth were asked to create signs and posters to re-enact the 1963 Freedom March. It was so inspiring to see what the students came up with. Following their presentations, we marched throughout Van Nuys Middle School as volunteers cheered on students who were shouting phrases of “What do we want - JUSTICE! When do we want it - NOW!”. It was a really tangible effort for the students to see a glimpse of what happened approximately 55 years ago. It really hit home once students realized that some years ago, they may not all be in the same classroom, even have the same friends.

However, shorting following this uplifting activity, Public Allies was faced with a challenging situation of conflicting beliefs. A video on the Civil Rights Movement was shown and the questions, comments, and concerns of the young people were solicited at any point in time. I can appreciate students who vivdly questioned why white people did not like black people - essentially, that is what they were extracting from the video. However, I have to question the delivery of the message for I believe some of the students got the wrong impression about the relations between those in power and those in opposition (or better yet, at the disapproval or discipline) of such power.

As an organization, Public Allies Los Angeles is for justice and truth, whether the delivery is raw in its form. There are some things like oppression, discrimination, and blatant racism that was experienced during the Civil Rights Movement and I believe it is valid for students to question its means. What I do not validate is pacifying or sugar-coating the hard issues that went on 55 years ago. Telling a student, “Oh, I don’t know why whites hated blacks” is not professionally and ethically responding to the issue at hand, in my point of view. Validating a student’s understanding that “racism doesn’t exist” simply to keep the conversation moving is not responsible by no means and is an insult to the work that we do as young leaders.

OK OK Ashley - hold on. I ask myself to think of the multiple perspectives and viewpoints that may be coexisting at this very moment. Maybe the teacher is not well-versed in the Civil Rights Movement or how to navigate such touchy conversations with young people. As many of us have done, she may have simply glossed over what the student said as opinion and not as truth - although there is always room to clarify. There could be a number of factors that I am not realizing but I do appreciate one Public Ally standing up and “setting the record straight” - white people didn’t just ‘hate’ black people, there were a tremendous mount of racial groups who experienced the same discrimination as a result to this movement in the South. There are distinct terms (racism, oppression, discrimination) that were in place and there were various systemic reasons as to why the environment in Alabama was the way that it was. However, is 7th grade the appropriate age to politicize youth? Never too old or young to be schooled on some knowledge.

That is what I mean about the original quote; in times of challenge or controversy, it is up to the individual (or group) to decide the next move. As an organization or on an individual level, any one of us ay any given point could have stood up and walked out. Sure, there were some of us who were uncomfortable with the delivery on some of the information, but one must pick their battles. As LA Works relayed to us, they do not have any bad intentions whatsoever and a lot of staff is highly unaware of the social justice lens in which Public Allies views.. EVERYTHING. It wasn’t the appropriate time or space for us to point any fingers, but Public Allies Los Angeles is for justice, regardless of who is for it or against it. Let Public Allies Los Angeles put you up on game :)

Overall, I have to say that it was a very rewarding service day. Again, it is another lesson as a young leader in the community that in some situations, we do not have a say in the delivery or content of the message that is being said. The point of service days is to provide additional capacity for another organization so they can tangibly meet their goals and outcomes. LA Works did an amazing job at completing their tasks; as social justice oriented individuals, we felt that it was in our right to say something to an LA Works Representative to some of the things we surveyed.

HOWEVER - it is very easy to say what “could have been done better” if it were in the hands of a different person. It is easy to critique; it is easy to place blame. As a whole, I appreciate the continued opportunity to work with different organizations on service days because it provides a different perspective on how we all physically act out means of service. There were hundreds of service days that went on in Los Angeles on Monday, each unique in their own delivery in perspective. So I leave you with this lasting quote from Dr. Martin Luther King. After a long and mentally strenous day, I left feeling more inspired about the individuals I interact with and grateful that the work we do in Los Angeles has great intention and meaning behind it.

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Martin Luther King Jr.