Youth Roots in New York - Oakland Leaf

fall * winter 2009/10
In t h e s e Fa l l * WI n t e r le av e s o F lo v e
Oakland Peace Peace Camp 2009 * After After
School Program Updates * Youth
Roots Reaches East * Love Cultivating
Schoolyards Grows Deep Roots *
Mother * rEVOLVING Garden the Strategic Mother Planning Garden *
www.oaklandleaf.org * 1434 34th www.oaklandleaf.org * 1434 34 Ave. in Oakland
th Ave. in Oakland
Mother Garden: rEVOLUTIONS And the Seasons Go ‘round and
This school year marks an important juncture in the development
of Oakland Leaf. It’s been a year since we established the
Mother Garden community center. We’ve also completed an
organizational strategic plan that puts key structures into place.
We have spent the last year digging deep, reflecting, planting
seeds, rooting in, and rising up with a new Mission, Vision, and
Values, to which we align our practices and methods. We invite
you to view our plan at www.oaklandleaf.org.
The late Nate Walrod wrote: “A life of love is many seconds
of love, many actions, leaps of faith over fear of loss. . . .” This
quote is poignant for Oakland Leaf as we navigate the ocean of
economic uncertainty guided by love for our community and
faith in our work. Without your help, wisdom, and financial
support, we would not have the honor of working towards community
transformation. You have nourished us to be where
we are and who we are. This year’s talent showcase marks the
10-year anniversary of the organization’s inception through
the All Oakland Talent Show. We invite you to celebrate the
vitality of Oakland and its youth at the 10th All Oakland Youth
Talent Showcase in May 2010. More details are on their way,
so please look out for them as it promises to be an incredible
night.
- Mirella Rangel, Oakland Leaf Executive Director
Youth Roots
in New York
October
21st from 3p LCS Produce Stand (biweekly
through fall)
@ ASCEND School 3709 E. 12th Street
27th Family Arts & Crafts Night: Preparing the
Día de los Muertos Altar @ UPA
29th Día de los Muertos Altar Erection by the
UPA Parent Center
@ UPA 3031 18th Street
30th 3:30 - 6p HOLLA’ween H Games
@ ASCEND School
Time TBD Día de los Muertos Assembly &
HOLLA’ween Dance @ UPA
7th 10a - 3p Ramas Rites of Passage
@ Four Winds Ropes Course
13th 6:30 - 9p Oakland Leaf Community Mixer
@ Mother Garden 1434 34th November
Avenue
. . . . . . . . .
and next year. . .
April 2010
Ramas Interns @ American Education Research
Association National Conference in Denver
May 2010
10 th Annual All Oakland Youth Talent Showcase
Four Youth Roots street scholars had an opportunity to facilitate an urban educators
workshop and demonstrate their skills as emerging public-intellectuals at the
Preemptive Education Conference in New York City in early October. The conference,
sponsored by the Lower Manhattan-based youth organization Urban Word,
brought together nearly 200 education scholars, activists, educators, and artists
from across the country. Youth Roots students Carlos “Loz” Perez, Talia Gonzalez,
Mario Rodriguez, and Diego Garcia Rivera shared a presentation called “It is NOT
What it Is” to a packed audience of educators who were inspired by the conference’s
only youth-led presentation.
In addition to presenting their work at the conference, the quartet of Youth Roots
high school-age students also visited the site of another afterschool organization
for youth empowerment called Brotherhood/SisterSol. Located in the heart of
Spanish Harlem, Brotherhood/SisterSol inspired the group with the possibilities of
bringing new ideas from the Big Apple back home to the Town. Youth Roots will
nurture their freshly planted cross-country relationships and the host of other
“artivists” the group met the conference.
“This trip showed us a glimpse of what Youth Roots can be, and of what we can
be,” explained Rodriguez shortly after the NYU presentation.
For more information about Urban Word NYC or Brotherhood SisterSol, visit
www.urbanwordnyc.org and www.brotherhood-sistersol.org.

This year the Urban Arts (UA) after school program at Urban Promise Academy (UPA) continues
to provide enriching classes to supplement academic intervention. New classes include:
Sailing (through Oakland Parks and Recreation),
Capoeira Mandinga (Brazilian martial art), Afro
Brazilian/Cuban Dance (Loco Bloco). Our Girlz
Initiative brings new classes focusing on empowering
young confident female youth to become
leaders of their community. The Unity Council
has a new Girls Sports Program, which provides
opportunities for girls to discover their strengths
through teamwork, communication, and leadership.
Girls’ Power is a class that provides a forum
for middle school girls to discuss challenges and
accomplishments they face in our community
and in a changing world. Monthly self- defense
workshops are available for young female students in UA and Urban Arts Cheerleaders to attend
monthly.
Urban Arts
The UPA Parent Center (PC) continues to grow and flourish under the leadership of Parent
Community Organizer Glendy Cordero. Parents attend English and Computer classes
and support UPA community functions. A new parent patrol has been established and
parents like Ana Olivares work hard to keep the students feeling safe and nurtured.
Oakland Peace Camp 2009!
This summer, over 90 youth were
able to develop their skills and
interests through 7 Oakland Peace
Camp (OPC classes: DJ/Music
Production; Girls’ & Boys’ Hop
Dance; Spoken Word Poetry/Creative
Writing; Basketball & Social Change; Graffiti Arts; and Hip
Hop Theater with locally and internationally renowned
artist-instructors.
Additionally, students communed each morning in small
groups called “advisories” led by an adult teacher and
youth intern from our Ramas program. In their advisories, youth explored “The Politics of Space and Place” whereby
youth examined how physical contexts highlight and define social roles within a space. Youth engaged in community
action projects to help bridge the seemingly disparate “spaces” of youth and the elderly, inner-city and suburban youth,
black and Latino neighborhoods, and “places” such as urban and non-urban environments, Spanish speaking and English
speaking communities. Projects included working with the elderly in a retirement home, cleaning up a local park, filming
a documentary video, public performances, and completing a permanent mural for the ASCEND campus entitled
“Love.”
Each day, Anita Miralle of Something for Your Soul Catering, a local chef specializing in cooking with seasonal, locally
grown foods, nourished students at lunch. She introduced them to a variety of healthful
foods from around the world.
Reaffirming the validity and value of urban culture, OPC hosted its 3rd annual Hip Hop Summit,
a 3-day long camp-wide exploration of the issues in and surrounding Hip Hop culture.
The summit conlcuded in a youth-facilitated discussion panel and panelist performances
featuring Ise Lyfe, Rep Life, Rico Pabón, and dancer-educators Susie Lundy and Jacinta Vlach.
OPC culminated in the annual End-of-Camp Exposition of Learning (EXPO). The Oakland
Leaf community -- including students, families, teachers, and artists – came together to celebrate
and showcase the hard work of the youth and their instructors. To open the EXPO, OPC
interns compiled a video presentation previewing their digital video work “Stunnin’ at OPC”
of footage taken during camp. Interns edited still images and video together to carry the hip
hop verse “narration” they wrote, performed, and recorded. Additionally, the EXPO featured
two hours of youth performances from all the performing arts classes to an audience of 150
parents and family members, the CD release of “Take Back the Block,” written and recorded
by the DJ/Music Production class, and the unveiling of the mural “Love” by the Graffiti Arts
class.
Sunset Warriors
As our flagship program, ASCEND Sunset Warriors (ASW) draws from its history of successful programming and new administrative
structures to strengthen this year’s work. The ASW Leadership Team, consisting of Program Director Laila Jenkins-Perez, Assistant
Administrative Director Miladi Almaweri-Borrero, Academic Co-Coordinator & Assistant Program Director Valerie Nicolas, Academic
Co-Coordinator Esmeralda Meza, and Academic Mentor Tiffany Knuckles, met for 4 weeks over the summer at the Mother Garden
planning for the year. The collaborative effort models shared-leadership which is essential to the sustainability of ASW programming.
The depth of preparation by the Leadership Team enables what promises to be a dynamic year for youth. Youth will have trimesters,
rather than semesters, providing them the opportunity to participate in 6 enrichment classes. Also new this year is Wednesday Club,
which includes weekly meetings of the Gardening Club, Hip Hop Dance, OMG (Online Media Group), Boys’ Mentoring, and Skateboarding.
Through a community partnership with the Oakland Parks and Recreation Department and Unity Council, ASW students,
as in UA, will have the opportunity to participate in the sailing and kayaking clubs.
In addition to the new Wednesday Clubs, youth will participate in daily academic mentoring and enrichment classes, including Soccer,
Raza Leadership, Acting Out (theatre), Young Engineers, Just Us Girls mentoring, 3D Arts, Computer Game Design, Baile Folklorico
y Teatro, and Mixed Sports. Enrichment classes feature new staff members: Faouly Fields, Benjamin Garcia, Imelda Herrera,
Bahati Jackson, Christine Jamlig, Raj Kanani, Stephani Candelaria-Waidelich, and Jesse Williams. ASW also welcomes new Academic
Mentor Molly Porzig and Academic Liaisons Geeta Makhija and Corrigan Malloy. Oakland Leaf welcomes all our new staff with our
deepest appreciation for their dedication to the youth and community.
As ASW recognizes the potential in its new staff, it also acknowledges and is grateful for all the returning staff, including the ongoing relationship with Girls, Inc.,
who work to sustain the positive impact on and healthy relationships with youth. This year, all but one Academic Mentor are returning staff members, one in her
third year at ASW and five in their fourth. The ASW Family Resource Center (FRC) also welcomes Guadalupe Barrera, a veteran Kindergarten Creative Play instructor
in ASW, as an FRC Coordinator, and Nai Saeteurn into her expanded role as FRC Program Coordinator.
ASW’s two Academic Co-Coordinators will continue to teach in addition to their increased administrative duties. Their dual role formally exemplifies the spirit of
community leadership in ASW, preventing the detrimental gap between administration and practice, contributing to ASW’s success. OUSD’s latest annual School
Report revealed that students attending ASW scored higher in math and language arts literacy exams, exhibited higher school attendance rates, and demonstrated a
marked drop in suspensions in contrast to those not enrolled in ASW.
Love Cultivating Schoolyards (LCS) started as a community initiative to empower and unite individuals through developing a fundamental
relationship with the earth and food production. Rooted in the devoted work of LCS Coordinator Matthew Linzner and his LCS Ramas Interns,
LCS has grown immensely in the last year. Last fall, LCS started biweekly produce stands at ASCEND, selling plants, cut produce, herbs and other
LCS products to ASW families and the school community. As of the writing of this article, LCS has already hosted four produce stands. Parents
have embraced the events, requesting specific produce and inquiring about future stands. Their input demonstrates community ownership of the
program and is vital to its continued authentic growth and efficacy.
LCS is also working to reinforce these integral relationships with the ASCEND community of families, bridging their efforts with that of the
ASCEND FRC by contributing produce like onions, basil, tomatoes and lettuce to the FRC nutrition class. The exchange cuts costs that FRC staff
and participants previously absorbed, leveraging internal resources to support program work in challenging economic times.
In August, Matthew Linzner presented during the ASCEND School professional development series for daytime teachers, introducing LCS to
the staff and administration in a formal forum absent in previous years. His presentation included information about the program, how to raise
garden awareness, and opportunities for teachers to integrate time in the ASCEND gardens into their classroom curriculum. Through the recent
establishment of the LCS Team at Oakland Leaf, LCS will continue to develop a formalized curriculum for educators within the program as well
as through reaching out to other urban ecology educators. This winter, more experienced interns will collaborate with Heather Taylor of the
Duck’s Nest Preschool in Berkeley to contribute to teachoutside.org, a garden education curriculum library.
The LCS Team has also instituted a new intern structure that empowers
and entrusts more experienced interns with formalized leadership roles.
Two third year interns, Genesis Rodriguez and Julio Cervantes, lead various
components of the program independent of the LCS Coordinator while Luis
Bahena continues to develop his urban ecology skills, helping two first year
interns, Jose Luis Rodriguez and Ricardo Martinez, learn the basics of gardening
and hard work. The new intern structure supports individual growth and
opportunities for independence and leadership.
Over the summer, LCS built a 150-foot redwood protective fence at ASCEND.
They worked with a core group of parents and community members to
complete the fence—from cutting and treating the wood to hammering in
the finishing nails. The fence stands as testament to the practical and purely
aesthetic beauty that LCS contributes to the community.

::Mu c h l e a f l o v e t o o u r g e n e r o u s d o n o r s a n d f u n d e r s::
Aya Allen, Paule Anglim, Abbey Banks, Lizbeth Barclay, Andrea Beale, Eren Berkenkotter, Diane Bosquez, Deborah Bowen
Lyons, Michael Brady, Shelagh Brodersen, Mikel Calderon, Rita Cecaci, Bruce Cohen, Sarah Collins Kushner, Willie Crittendon,
Laura-May Culver, Barbara deJanvry, Genevieve DeBose, Sharon Drager, Jayeesha Dutta, William Ellis, Jr., Elizabeth
Farnsworth, Samuel Farnsworth, Rona Fernandez, Penelope & Charles Finnie, Jim Flemming, Bonnie Fraenza, Reina Fujii,
Toni Garrett, Abigail Ginzberg, Jamie Golden, Clarita Griffin, Teresa & Andrew Gunther, Michael Haas, John Hamilton,
Lamar Hancock, T Clayton Haswell, James Hawley, Clark Hay, Dolly Hazel, Mildred Howard, Ginger Jordan & William
Bonville, Jonas Juhlin, Marilynn & Gary Juhlin, Elizabeth Kandall, Lorna Kategaya, Laura Katz & Lawrence Farb, Ralph
Kaywin, LE Keller & TC Williams, Charles Kremer, Gloria Lawrence, Esther Lerman, Lorraine Lerman, Deborah Lesser, Debra
Levinsky, Erin Lewellen, Richard Lipperman, Richard Litt, Emily Loeb, Winnie Liu, Colleen Malouf, Hannah Martin, Karen &
William McClung, Nancy Mennel & David Kessler, Marlene & Richard Millikan, Hillary Mills, Ruth Miska, Sarah Mott, Julie
Nachtwey, Mark Nakamura, Helen Nicholas, M. O’Malley, Nancy Pfund, Teresa Picchi, Stephen Portis, Quyen Quan & Binh
Lee, Mirella Rangel, Walter Rex, Eric Ripsteen, Laura Robell, Stephen Rosenbaum, Bonnie Rottier Felix, Laura Sackett,
Sarah Satterlee, Nancy Silverman, Lakesha Smith, Doug Stubblefield, John Tateishi, Lava Thomas & Peter Danzig, Claudine
Torfs, Marc Van Der Hout, Stephen Walrod, Anne Weills, Gary Wendt, Ruchi Wijayaratne, Eve Yalom, Pamela Ybanez,
Sammy Yu, Elisabeth & Francisco Zermeño, Love Cultivating Assets Fund, Bernard E. & Alba Witkin Charitible Giving, East
Bay Community Foundation, Haas Fund, Mitchell Kapor Foundation, Montgomery Watson Harza, Myers Fund, Naches Fun
Gabyn Garden Fund, Nicholson Family Foundation, City of Oakland, Oakland Fund for Children & Youth, Oakland Small
Schools Foundation, PG&E, Peets Coffee & Tea, San Francisco Foundation, Irene S. Scully Foundation, Voila Juice Co.,
United Way of the Bay Area, van Loben Sels RembeRock Foundation, Wayne & Gladys Foundation, Youth Uprising
Oakland Leaf
PO Box 7256
Oakland, California 94601
office located @ 1434 34th Avenue in Oakland, CA 94601
p: 510.533.5989 | f: 510.533.8825 | www.oaklandleaf.org
As this is being written, Youth Roots
..............................................................
interns are immersed in planning and
preparing for the launch of this year’s program on October 13th. This year, various Street
Scholar “Artivists” from Youth Roots will conduct workshops throughout the country, including
the Preemptive Education Conference at New York University, Teachers 4 Social
Justice Conference in San Francisco, American Education Research Association National
Conference in Denver, along with other local presentations.
Remixing Resistance with YR
As always Ramas and Youth ROOTS (Youth Reaching deep to Overcome Oppression by
planting Transformative Seeds of change in the community) offers diverse opportunities
for personal growth to up to 30 high school students. Brotherhood-Sisterhood Cyphers
will build bonds and deconstruct gender oppression, performances will showcase project
outcomes, events will involve the community, and celebrations will bring it all full circle.
This year’s Rites of Passage activities will include: rock climbing, a ropes course and a
snowboarding trip in Tahoe based on “carving through life”.
By Any Medium Necessary these Word Warriors, Just Journalists, Cyba Souljas, and Image
Infiltratas use their talents to produce public counter culture. This year Youth Roots will
dig deep. Root in. Reach out. Rise up. So look out, tune in, listen up, ‘cause Youth Roots is
gonna hold it down.