IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL PROGRESS?

As the Youth Organizer, for JDCY I help facilitate our Prison to College Pipeline Program at the New Beginnings Youth Developement Facility formerly known as Oak Hill Youth Detention Center. The Prison to College Pipeline is designed to support the education and empowerment of youth incarcerated in Washington, D.C. and is our primary point of contact with youth in the juvenile justice system. Via the P2C we offer one-on-one tutoring services to New Beginnings residents (formerly Oak Hill) to improve literacy skills and reinforce the option of post-secondary education as an opportunity to excel. We also offer arts activism based group workshops that focus on developing leadership and encouraging critical thought. Our overarching goal is to help the young people who participate in our program develop into positive leaders in our community upon their release.

So August 4th, was Barack Obama's birthday; One must think "I wonder what it feels like to have my first birthday in the "big" White House as the first African American President of the U-N-I-T-E-D States!?!?" Crazy, right?

I heard a nice lady mention this to the bank teller while I was standing in line to get my roll of quarters for these expensive downtown parking meters. She said "you know he'll also be spending his 50th birthday in the "big" White house too!" Imagine that... Spending time with your loved ones, celebrating decades of hard work and dedication that has seemingly paid off, and looking forward to many more accomplishments that come as you continue to age in the comfort of a place you can call home. The feeling, I'm sure, is one that is indescribable; a sort of high never felt before by anyone b/c he (Obama) is actually the first to ever experience it!

On the flip side however, he is not the first African American man to spend his birthday in the white man's Big House [i.e. penitentiary, prison, jail house, detention facility, etc.] Up at New Beginnings the other day we had an opportunity to sit in on the youth's seven challenges group meeting. The focus of the group meeting was "triggers" or things that you know are likely to get you "guh", upset, or lead to some type of negative outcome. As they made there way around the circle, the young men made some thought provoking statements about the reality of their situation. One young man in particular, lets call him "G" said that one of his triggers is being locked up on his birthday and that this was the sixth birthday that he will have spent incarcerated, and he's only turning 17 years old!

How would you feel if you've spent every birthday you've had, since 11 or 12 years old, locked up? You'd feel crazy, right? You probably wouldn’t even remember how it would feel to celebrate your birthday amongst loved ones and forget kickin' it in the white house, it would be enough just to chill in the comfort of your own home [no matter how broken].

The reality is that we've come so far yet have made very little progress. Thus to have gained the world for the price of your soul is to have gained nothing at all. And essentially that is how I feel towards our black people as a whole. Half are walking around blind and the other half are walking around invisible.

Ask a young black male in any youth detention facility how does it feel to witness the first African American President of the USA [and if he gives you his honest opinion] 9x's out of 10 he will probably say something along the lines of "its aight...", "I think its cool...", or "I never thought it would happen..." 9x's out of 10 you wont hear a youth say is "I want to be president...", "if he can do it, I can do anything..." In my opinion you won’t hear such responses because the only obvious connection that Barack Obama and a youth in detention may share is undoubtedly their skin color and maybe basketball. Other than that, they have lived two totally different experiences. And that is not to say that our youth aren't capable, however, our institutions [i.e. family, education, financial, social supports, etc.] are failing terribly.

Give a young black male in any youth detention facility the opportunities/experiences that Barack Obama had growing up and it is very well likely they'd be capable of being president, if not elected - but most important of all is that they'd be able to envision the possibility!