Khmer Girls for Action works primarily with young girls of Southeast Asian descent in the Long Beach area in Southern California. Most are from low income, immigrant and/or refugee families and face such issues such as poverty, racism, and violence. Though Long Beach is home to the largest Cambodian population in the United States, there is a dearth of data and information that reflect the experience of the community. For this reason, KGA decided to launch a research project that would assess the conditions and needs among Khmer youth in their community. KGA hopes that the findings will inform the myriad services serving youth in Long Beach so they can better meet the needs of this very vulnerable, often marginalized population.
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An Intensive Training Camp on Social Justice Youth-led Research
…with Youth in Focus.
On March 7th, 2009, youth organizers from a variety of organizations in the East Bay and San Francisco united at the Madison Park Apartments Community Room in Oakland with the desire to learn more about the range of methods that can be used to document the realities lived by people in their day to day life in order to produce data that will actually reflect the truth as they know it. The main objective of the day was to instill a heightened sense of familiarity and confidence in these impassioned organizers in order for them to approach research as a strategic tool used to empower their voices and bring real change to their communities. (more…)
The DataCenter has been providing training support to YouthAction (Albuquerque, NM) conferences annually since 2002. This year, in addition to facilitating workshops, staff set up a “research kiosk” where conference participants dropped in to discuss the relationship between research and organizing, or even specific research questions. In previous conferences, workshop topics have included campaign research strategizing, educational justice issues, accessing public records, and prioritizing research questions—all conducted within popular education (games, scenarios) approaches tailored for youth. Since 2002, training has evolved from a heavily technical one to one incorporating popular education methods and instant access to strategic research support. In addition to incorporating youth-responsive training methods, the DC has also been receptive to providing more substantial trainings on campaign research strategy, youth empowerment, environmental justice, economic justice, and immigrant and border justice issues.
The DC’s Youth Strategy and Environmental Justice Projects has collaborated to conduct annual workshops on popular education participatory research skills for the youth leaders of Common Roots since 2004 in San Francisco, CA. Common Roots explores the commonalities and differences between two historically racially segregated communities. A collaborative project between Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) and People Organized to Demand Environmental Rights (PODER), the Common Roots Youth Organizer program conducts organizing training and political education workshops for youth. Specific goals include developing leadership skills and equipping low-income youth with the skills and analysis needed to effectively address critical issues facing their communities in Southeast San Francisco.
The DataCenter has partnered with Sisters in Action for Power (Portland, OR) since 2002 to provide research and analysis support for their efforts to address local affects of privatization. Their efforts launched a public land equity campaign designed to address gentrification of neighborhoods of color, the attack on public housing through HOPE VI and the sale of public school land. Recently Sisters in Action started a new campaign to take on the federal No Child Left Behind Act as it works to dismantle public education. In partnership with Sisters in Action and Movement Strategy Center, the DC co-convened a national NCLB gathering for grassroots, community based youth groups in the Winter 2005. We are aiming to develop a common analysis of NCLB, share organizing models and local responses to NCLB, as well as strategize a collective, radical response to federal education policies and create an alternative vision for public education.
Please consider making a donation or offering funding leads to Sisters in Action for Power. Sisters has been critical to the development and analysis of Youth Strategy Project’s educational justice work, and their sharp political framework tools and analysis were the lynchpin of the NCLB national gathering. Additional support is critical in supporting Sisters to continue their important work.
For further information contact Sisters in Action for Power at 503.331.1244 or sisters@hevanet.com.