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!

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After a long Fourth of July weekend, the Teens in East Palo Alto came back ready to be set off like the fireworks in their city’s streets on Saturday night. They came back strong and ready to work in a Week 3 that was exceptionally interesting to say the least.

On Wednesday, when half of the group traveled up to San Francisco to assist the teens in SF with interviewing SF District Attorney Kamala Harris, the other half put in work in EPA interviewing UC Santa Cruz Professor Emeritus in Sociology, John Brown Childs. In this interview on national/regional peace, Professor Childs gave us a brief history of his family, their connection to the Iroquois and Haudenosaunee tribes and how his family’s ideals and those of these Native American tribes directly relates to his theory of Trans-communality. He also gave EPA Teen Mural Assistants an introduction to the power of their thought and what it means to have inner peace; a topic the teens will be discussing in their final week of research.

This interview with Prof. John Brown Childs (video clip above) was perfect for supporting the teens in their research of this summers theme of PEACE. Prof. Childs, who was so loved by the teens, enjoyed himself just as much and has agreed to come back during the week of Inner Peace to discuss his theories. Here are a few notes from Prof. Childs’ interview:

His mother’s family is Native American. They belonged to a Massachusetts tribe who created a refuge for Native Americans to live in peace. His father’s family is African-American. His fathers ancestors created one of the first schools for African American children in the south after the civil war. He wanted to honor his ancestors in his work by teaching about both sides of his Ancestry. In both sides of his family, they were concerned about education and keeping peace in the community. He always sees education as a necessary tool for any community and its peace keeping efforts.

His theory of Trans-communality essentially means across communities. With this ideal, community to community, groups of people can maintain their own identity but live together harmoniously. The key here is respect for difference. Opposed to the melting pot theory which means that we melt our identities and assimilate into one identity. Trans-communality recognizes the differences and allows people to live together peacefully.

“When the Peacemaker said that thinking will replace violence. He knew that we needed to control our emotions via the management of our thoughts. He had a whole ceremony of sustenance to encourage rationale thought. It is called the condolence ceremony. This is really about inner peace.”

“It is important to have ceremonial moments. It does not have to be super formal but, life is so full of tension, problems and worries that having a moment to chill is very important. Even if its just for one moment. It is useful because it reminds the body and the mind that it can be at peace. ”

When asked “How can youth get their voices heard?” Prof. Childs mentioned that what they are doing in the Teen Mural Program is a great way to make their voices heard and that art and culture are one of the main ways to really send a message. He said that we all have different strengths. He mentioned that he is a writer and he contributes to society via this strength. “We all have one strength.”

This interview was certainly one of the best to date as the teens were fully engaged, interested and questioned almost everything that Professor Childs had to say. We were truly grateful to have him visit with us as we were all moved by what he had to say and are looking forward to having him back on the 22nd for an Inner Peace workshop!

The Teens finished off week 3 with an art activity where they were able to revisit scaling by using pictures of two highly influential peace keepers, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi. This was a head start in the right direction as teens are now thinking about who/what they would like to see in their mural and how will these images be depicted. A brilliant idea by our EPA resident artist, Laura Nagle, a workshop that nearly perfected their ability to scale a drawing and really recreate masterPEACE!

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With momentum on the rise, week two of the Teen Mural Program (TMP) started off with some pretty heavy discussions. Teen Mural Assistants (TMA’s) conducted two solid interviews and are now beginning to unify as a team. From art workshops to group work activity and gallery walks, this group of teens has proven that they are fully focused and invested in their efforts to find PEACE. The question they are all left asking: How does one effectively bring about peace?

Monday’s interview, focused on International Peace and featured a discussion surrounding the conflict between Tamil and Sinhalese people of Sri-Lanka. This interview was prefaced by an intense lesson plan where teens were able to compare their definition of a terrorist versus a positive revolutionary and give their opinion on the Tamil Tigers in this regard. There was no conclusion as to whether the Tamil Tigers were terrorists or positive revolutionaries but, in comparing the violent approach of the Tamil Tigers to the non-violent, civil disobedience of Mohandas Ghandi, TMA’s agreed that Ghandi’s approach was favored as the most effective in bringing about peace amongst people.

On Wednesday, the teens were exposed to the conflict surrounding the American Indian Movement here in the US . The interview with Mark Anquoe opened up some interesting discussion as teens made inferences and connections to previous research.

The week finished strong with a Gallery Walk that highlighted the current Crisis in Darfur. (See videos above) This was a very intense activity which provided a space for TMA’s and Staff to share their personal experiences and conceptualize the reality of this heart-wrenching research. Before Friday’s end, teens dove into an art activity that introduced them to Scaling, step four of the mural making process. Next on our agenda: National Peace!!

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In the opening week of this years Teen Mural Program, Directors, Staff and Instructors alike were blown away by the level of talent and commitment among this years group of teens. It started first thing Monday, as the entire class of 2009 was on time, in their seats and ready to SHINE when the clock struck fourteen hundred hours. After three hours of introductions, review of expectations and intense group work activity to introduce our theme of PEACE, Mr. C, Coach Tunde and the rest of this years TMP staff were able to wrap up the first day with no shadow of doubt and a strong sense of conviction for what is to come.

As the week progressed, the expectations where only heightened. With assistance from interns Isaiah Phillips and Chris Brown along with returners, Imelda Rodriguez, brothers Adrian and Alex Johnson, Marilyn Opeta, Mani Godinez, Viridiana Magallon and Daniel Nava, the bar was set high for the rookie Teen Mural Assistants (TMA’s) to rise to the level of professionalism that is expected during this 10-week program.

Week one finished strong with an art workshop directed by the lovely Laure Nagle. TMA’s and staff, excited to embark on another summer of Research and Design, were all involved as we painted opposite colors along the infamous color wheel. Most memorable of this first week of research was the youth setting themselves apart from teens in previous years with one of the strongest first interviews to date. We were blessed with the presence of Corporate Attorney, Candice Petty who gave TMA’s a good idea of what their primary source research would look like over the next five weeks. TMA’s were all engaged, inquisitive and more than interested in what Ms. Petty had to say and gave some pretty interesting answers when she responded with a few questions she had for them. (see video above)

With newcomers, like Devert Welch, an incoming Senior at East Palo Alto Academy, stepping out of their shell and stepping up to the plate, the tone has been set. Although Devert was originally in it for the “…money, and thats it.” He has now realized that this is something he would like to be a part of even with out his $10/hr salary. It is moments like these when true emotion is felt and a vision of a successful summer fills the room. I think all TMA’s and Staff can agree with me when I say, its going to be a great summer! PEACE!!

Contact, Youth Coordinator, Fred McNeill at 310.927.8375 or email him at fred@muralmusicarts.org for any questions regarding this years Teen Mural Program.