One of the positive results of having someone like Donald Trump rise in politics is the answering rise in political activism and community organizing in the communities he is targeting.
Simply put, folks are getting active and are seeking solutions that can uproot the system that led us to Trump. I channel my resistance and energy towards the organization I co-founded this year called The Hada-Nou Collective (HNC) with my colleague, Nathan Pai Schmitt. Hada-Nou is a Korean and Ewe phrase that means “to humbly offer a solution”. We create centers and schools that seek to transform education into a tool communities use to solve problems. HNC is our answer to the interlocking systems of oppression that rob our communities of agency.
So far, the Hada-Nou Collective is working to decolonize education through our first two centers: HackSchool and Street Knowledge. Last year, one of our students was invited to the White House as one of Obama’s 11 Kid Science Advisors for her work in HackSchool prototyping a smart cane for the blind. While in HackSchool, students use technology to create solutions for real community issues, at Street Knowledge students use the tools of community activism to create those solutions.
What does this look like?
The day after Trump’s election, I spent time supporting one of our partnerships with students at Manual High School, who organized a youth-led healing circle for our community. Last year, these students created the nation’s first student-founded and student-led writing center where students can reclaim the power of voice and become agents of social change. Change led by those most impacted. It’s the only solution that’s changed history and it’s the only refuge for those of us seeking justice today.
15 days after Trump’s inauguration, Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE) convened community members from Colorado Springs to the Denver metro area to learn and practice the skills of community organizing to push for change in schools, networks and neighborhoods.
I was honored to attend the workshop with 3 of our students: Khaled representing HackSchool, along with Iris and Diamond representing Street Knowledge.
Iris and Diamond both attend Contemporary Learning Academy (CLA) and are part of a small group of students who were nominated by their principal, Shawne Anderson, to participate in our pilot. When the opportunity was presented to her, Iris remarked “I like getting my ideas out there so this was an opportunity I could not pass up.” Students came together and formed a group they call Communities United. Their mission is to empower the next generation of leaders.
Below are student voices on their experience.
So, what was it like learning in a room full of adults?
It was funny learning with a room full of adults, especially a room full of teachers. It was inspiring because I don’t want to be a teacher but I do want to inspire the next generation and show them that there is always a way to make a change, no matter your age. Being in a room full of inspirational people is amazing!! -Iris
It was awkward being around a lot of adults…but I tried my hardest to be myself. I feel it can maybe benefit me [to be] in a professional setting because it shows me what I shouldn’t and should do. -Diamond
It was interesting. How they impact the youth. They’re willing to help us. It was pretty cool knowing what an adult perspective is on youth. -Khaled
What was your biggest lesson learned?
In order to have a movement you need to gather together first. You get the people together and have a protest but what do you do after that? You get together again and you plan out your steps. You might have a House Meeting. You get other people to hear your ideas and hear what you want to do to make a change and create a chain reaction.
It inspired me to do something similar. Get all these people there and figure out how we can change the school to prison pipeline and the statistics. When people think of alternative schools, they think you’re knocked up, gang-banging or doing drugs and none of us are that. What I would like to do is get all these people together. Maybe 5 kids to every 2 teacher for a pathway school and we’ll figure out how to change the stereotype. -Iris
We got to tell our own story about our childhood. I got to know [my partner] on a personal level. You never know what somebody went through unless you know their story. He looked like a stereotypical white boy but as he started talking, he told me how his parents took him to a diverse church with black people, minorities, lgbtq people but then when he went to school, it wasn’t the same. This is why he decided to become a teacher. It changed my entire perspective on this guy. I remember him saying, “I’m well aware that me being white I have superior power and I’m going to use that for the greater good.” ..I want to actually use that for my work with Communities United. To be able to tell our stories and get to know each other on a personal level.
The storytelling really hit me and gave me an idea for my station. That’s what I actually wanted to do in the first place. Pinpoint situations or issues in our society and in this generation. -Diamond
We got to actually talk about real world situations and how we could change it or how we could impact the events happening around us. -Khaled
In the age of Trump, my fears are calmed when I picture the next generation of conscious and empowered individuals like Iris, Diamond, and Khaled using their educated voices to advocate for themselves, their families, and their gente.
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Photo: Getty Images