SIDE BY SIDE WE STAND TOGETHER NO MATTER WHAT

I remember the day i changed my life, it was when i set foot on a slave plantation for the first time My heart droped as i felt the souls of my roots, i layed in the master's house whi;e my brothers slept in the slave quarters, all my life i felt indpendence but at that very moment i realized i was still a slave tring to break free. Try to understand where i'm comming from. I'm not an angel nor a preacher but i will tell what it is so listen to my story, because i have alot to say in so little time. New York City is the financial capital of the U.S.A implying that this city I live in is one to be the wealthiest city in the world however there is another side that most do not see, the poverty. The streets of Spanish Harlem or the matrix aren’t easy. Between The drugs, and the police brutality and the fact that young people are dying for no reason is unacceptable by any standards. When I became apart of the youth build movement in 1997, the youth was all about setting agenda’s and being heard on issues that were untouched by this society. Youth Action gave me the necessary tools to express my feelings about poverty, and showed me the world doesn’t revolve around 106& Park. I traveled all around the country speaking on race, class, met with famous people and broke bread with an originial Black panther. My life was beging to shape it form but college was the next step. After I graduated from Youth action I had the opportunity to see out side the matrix. Many people in my neiborhood consider me lucky because I made it out the hood;In other words i felt unlucky because there more than 50 young people on my block who had the same talents as me but lacked the resouces to move ahead of the game. I had a chance to go away to a historical black college it was one of the best experiences of my life. At Morgan State University I encountered many different cultures, and the diverse faculty who showed me that it takes more than just grabbing up information but to use it as a tool to lace your true foundation in life.While atending Morgan State i became a part of a sisterhood so strong that ourties that bind flows past the nile river my sister of DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY INC.My line showed me that sisterhood is more deeper than its meaning, we cry together,we laugh together each of us are all different but when you look at each of us you can tell we are all related. Morgan also sparked up my passion for activism and the ongoing fight for youth and community organizing and development. Post graduation I went back home, My mission was to solely educate the youth residents of Spanish Harlem through learning tools that will challenge and also supports young people in developing leadership, and Activism around key issues in the community such as Environmental racism , tenant community organizing, political awareness and economic development. I currently work for a grassroots organization in the South Bronx My title is Youth Organizing Coordinator, I’m responsible for training Youth in skills of community organizing and helping them in developing youth led community building and organizing projects. They learn skills not taught in NYC public educational school system, skills such as community mapping, Bronx River water testing, Asthma studies, more green space community, and analyzing contaminated sites in the south Bronx community.Young people holds a very special key to my heart there development is very important because they run this nation one day and if we as a people don't get our stuff together our young people will be lost foreverJust remember in order to walk you have to follow your feetPOWER TO THE PEOPLE