YAAS: Spoken Word Poetry Workshop

If you want to learn about the original conception and mission of this program, read my What is YAAS? post. TL;DR: It's a weekly group for youth age 14-24 where we'll be doing community service work, library programs, hosting guest presenters, and making connections with peers in a safe and welcoming environment.

This week we had a very special guest from our sister city location, the Mesa Arts Center. The MAC does a lot of diverse and wonderful programming, including poetry and hip hop workshops given by Tomas. YAAS members did a wonderful job following his directions and coming up with original, personal poetry.

Our group with Tomas post-workshop

I also wanted to share this video posted by Tomas about his background and why he pursued work as a spoken word artist and teacher. He is amazing at commanding a room and teaching valuable lessons in the exact way youth need to hear them. We were so lucky to host him!

YAAS: Women's History Month

If you want to learn about the original conception and mission of this program, read my What is YAAS? post. TL;DR: It's a weekly group for youth age 14-24 where we'll be doing community service work, library programs, hosting guest presenters, and making connections with peers in a safe and welcoming environment.

March is Women's History Month, and we take it very seriously at our library! In addition to this program, my coworker Sarah did a Women's History Month storytime and a giant book display. Plus, next week we're further celebrating WHM by assembling hygiene packs for a local women's shelter. 

This week, we welcomed my friend Sydney, who is a social worker and very involved in educating young people on black history and women's history. Sydney gave a presentation on famous women from the 1700's to present day, including some of our newest Congress members who have the distinction of being the first of their gender, race, or religion to be sworn in. Here's a full list of the women Sydney presented:

• Michele Obama (1964-): First lady of the USA 2008-2016, writer and activist
• Jane Elliot May (1933-): Created the blue vs. brown eyes experiment in 1968
• Sojourner Truth (1797-1883): Born a slave, became free in 1827 and advocated for abolition, women's rights, and civil rights until her death
• Jane Adams (1860-1935): Known as the mother of social work
• Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992): Trans woman, LGBTQ+ rights activist, known for being one of the original instigators of the Stonewall Riots
• Sylvia Rivera (1951-1992): Latina LGBTQ+ rights activist, founded Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries (STAR) with Marsha P. Johnson
• Gloria Steinem (1934-): Known as the mother of modern feminism, prolific writer and activist
• Harriet Tubman (c1820-1913): Most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, born into slavery and became free in 1949, advocated for abolition, acted as a Civil War spy
• Maya Angelou (1928-2014): Poet, memoirist, actor, singer, activist, worked with Malcom X and Dr. MLK Jr. during the Civil Rights movement
• Rosa Parks (1913-2005): Her actions sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, civil rights activist, granddaughter of slaves
• Mary McLeod Bethune (1975-1955): Educator, stateswoman, philanthropist, civil rights activist
• Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962): First lady of the USA 1933-1945, one of the most politically involved first ladies to date
• Ellen Degeneres (1958-): Comedian, TV show host, actor, LGBTQ+ activist, publically came out as a lesbian on her sitcom in the late 90's and it was a Big Deal
• Ilhan Omar (1981-): First Somali-American to be elected to legislative office and US Congress
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (1989-): Youngest woman to serve on US Congress at 29 years old
• Debra Haaland (1960-): One of the first Native American women to be elected to US Congress
• Sharice Davids (1980-): First openly LGBTQ+ Native American elected to US Congress
• Ayanna Pressley (1974-): First black woman elected to the Boston City Council, first black woman to represent Massachusetts on US Congress

As always, my kiddos had excellent insightful questions and soaked up the discussion like sponges. I really appreciate that this presentation included a lot of influential women from their lifetime! It made the subject more real and topical to them, instead of sticking only with women from centuries ago.

YAAS: Black History Month

If you want to learn about the original conception and mission of this program, read my What is YAAS? post. TL;DR: It's a weekly group for youth age 14-24 where we'll be doing community service work, library programs, hosting guest presenters, and making connections with peers in a safe and welcoming environment.

This week, we welcomed Professor Rod Golden from Mesa Community College to do one of his signature interactive lectures. I've had Professor Golden as a program guest before, but it's never gone quite as well as it did tonight. The YAAS members are smart, thoughtful, and insightful, and they really seemed to get a lot out of his presentation. The presentation focused on black inventors, and the professor took care to list many inventions and scientific innovations made my black people over the last several centuries. 

One part of the presentation that seemed to especially strike a chord with our kids was the below list of "cardinal virtues to students" made popular by one black inventor and teacher in particular (forgive me, I don't remember the person's name and wasn't able to find it online). The group spent a large part of the time on these virtues, examining each one individually and applying them to their own lives. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say these virtues could be an entire program in and of themselves. 

Professor Golden has so much knowledge to share. I envision his brain like a big encyclopedia. He can flip to the page for Hariet Tubman, Jimmi Hendrix, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, George Washington Carver, or any influential African American in any historical time period, and teach you something about that person you didn't know before. He is a joy to speak to, a joy to listen to, and a joy to welcome into our library every once in a while. He says he'd like to come back in the summer, and I can't wait!