Today was a crucial day for TMP teens as they prepare for Friday’s Design Workshop. We reviewed the 10 steps of mural making using James Chitty’s rhyme and beat – we caught the teens on video and will be posting it shortly! Teens rotated through three art stations learning graffiti lettering from resident graf experts, Troy and Zaid. They created collages to investigate the concept of symbolism, and they painted exploring color theory. The visual inspiration was flowing – check out the pictures below!

In the color wheel station, newcomers like Christian and the rest of the teens learned about primary, secondary and complimentary colors. They also got a little taste as to how to use a paintbrush.

Veteran Zaid Vargas teaches newcomer Tony Salinas a little bit about grafitti art and styles.

Getting a view of the talent of veteran teen artist Troy Davis.

Monique uses her knowledge of symbolism to make a collage on her views on leadership!

No doubt we will only see amazing ideas from all these teens on Friday!

After today’s TMP session in EPA City Hall, Leslie Gray shared a hot verse he wrote inspired by the in-depth research and interviews conducted throughout the program thus far.

Zach Pogue visited TMP for an interview on leadership and how it can be accomplished through new media and technology. Zach Pogue also shared his ambitious endeavors to create a more sustainable campus for American University. The teens were undoubtedly inspired by Zach Pogue’s advice to take risks and lead by example.

Students applaud Zach Pogue after learning of his initiatives in the technological and environmental fields.

TMP with Zach Pogue after an interesting interview, where he gave many useful and creative ideas to be included in our upcoming mural!

After researching the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, TMP students were split up into 3 prosecution attorney groups and 3 defense attorney groups in the (mock) trial case for BP CEO Tony Hayward.

No doubt that emotions were strong during the mock trial, given the devastating effects of the oil spill on the Gulf Coast communities. Our TMP defense attorneys admitted that it was extremely difficult to be on Tony Hayward’s side, but surprisingly two groups successfully defended Mr. Hayward. The students thought extremely hard about the complexity of the issues at hand, and were able to bring in insightful thoughts about who in the end would be at fault.

On Wednesday we learned about the environmental problems in our East Palo Alto community, and received important tips to becoming successful leaders.

Lily Lee, program manager of the Cooley Landing Project in EPA, visited the MMAP headquarters and introduced students to ideas of environmental justice and the importance of being involved in environmental issues in their community. We look forward to working more closely with Ms. Lee as the Cooley Landing plans progress this summer!

Monique Tillman was surprised to discover how close Cooley Landing was to home, and its unfortunate history thus far. Here, TMP teens with Lily Lee outside of the MMAP office.

TMP also had the awesome opportunity to interview MMAP’s founding board president and accomplished leader, Stephen DeBerry. Listen to Stephen DeBerry as he expresses his sentiments on how the program has grown.

"He told us we can't sit around and wait for things to happen; we gotta make opportunities to get somewhere," Christian Salinas said of Stephen DeBerry's visit to TMP.

This week we have to give a shout-out to Idris Rasheed for listening to Mr. DeBerry’s advice and taking initiative by handing him his number and contact information before the interview was even over!

TMP teens Leslie Gray, Monica Magallon & Monique Tillman taking notes during the interviews. It's no wonder DeBerry was impressed.

The summer 2010 Teen Mural Program has officially started, and with it, we welcome 27 teens – veterans and beginners – from the cities of East Palo Alto, San Francisco & Houston, TX.

This year’s 10-week program will explore the theme “The Art of Leadership,” and it will be carried out in 2 phases: the research phase followed by the art phase. Unlike previous years, this year’s teens will not only be able to transfer their research into imagery for a mural, but will also be able to voice their knowledge through hip-hop songs, spoken word, & dance.

The first week has already come and gone and following are a few snapshots of the amazing leaders in our communities the teens have had the pleasure of interviewing.

June 25, 2010: Stanford Law School Professor William Koski poses with the TMP students after an insightful interview discussing equal protection for all students in the California education system.

June 28, 2010: “I think that it was interesting when she was talking about the prison-to-school pipeline because I never thought about the role that police had in the school system,” Viridiana Magallon said about ACLU Racial Justice Project Fellow Natalia Merluzzi pictured here with TMP students.

“He told us to fight what we believed in and let our voices be heard by 'raising hell' to people who have power, “ Tony Salinas recalls from Mr. William Abram’s visit with TMP.

“I liked that he talked about the new Arizona immigration law and the way he questioned how exactly the law would not bring about racial profiling. It was good to hear the perspective of someone who was an immigrant and personally knew the challenges,” Christian Salinas said about Professor Pratheepan Gulasekaram’s interview.

Be on the lookout for updates on our upcoming interviews with local leaders, including political activists, law professors & judges – coming soon!