Ariana Kearney will complete an art project this week focused on the late Marsha P. Johnson, a Black transgender woman who fought for LGBTQ rights in the 1960s and an essential figure in the Stonewall Inn riots in New York City.
Ariana, 15, chose Johnson not only because of her activism but also because “I know she would be losing her mind right now with what’s going on in America.”
“Women are losing their rights and trans people are losing their rights. The homicides and hate crimes against Black people,” the rising high school sophomore said Wednesday. “In school, you don’t talk about social issues that much. It’s very controversial and [school officials] try not to offend people. It’s something we should really be discussing. It’s nice to be in an environment where people talk about these things.”
Ariana and other teenagers are participating in a weeklong social justice camp at the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System’s Spauldings branch in District Heights.
The new program offered this summer by the library system seeks to allow teens ages 13 to 17 to learn not only about advocacy, but also how to conduct research, public speaking and other skills to help improve their communities
The five weeklong camps began July 11 at the Bowie branch and will end Aug. 15-19 in Hyattsville.
The teens don’t just sit in chairs and listen to lectures all day. On Wednesday, they walked around a room to jot down answers for an “activist research scavenger hunt.”
Some of the 10 questions asked them to find an activist who’s not an American citizen (Greta Thunberg of Sweden), find an activist or group that uses social media to get their messages out to the public (Parkland Teens and Never Again MSD) and find one who became an activist before the age of 18 (Marley Dias).
They also wrote their thoughts about a certain person on a Post-it note and place it next to a photo of an activist on a wall.
“There’s no right or wrong answer. Just your thoughts about the activism and that person,” Jessica St. Sulme, a library associate, said to the teens
Nearly two dozen books are available to read such as “The Gay Rights Movement,” “Rise Up! How You Can Join the Fight Against White Supremacy” and “Ten Lives, Ten Demands: Life-and-Death Stories, and a Black Activist’s Blueprint for Racial Justice.”
Isaiah West, teen services specialist for the library system, said it took nine months to create and coordinate a curriculum.
“We’re trying not to focus heavily on politicians and politics. We’re focusing on more on things affecting the teens right now,” he said. “We want them to see the injustices in their community, the inequities in their community.”
He said students presented proposals to fight homelessness and another to correct funding in the foster care system.
Although they aren’t old enough to vote in this year’s gubernatorial general election, a few such as Micah Smith of Clinton. He will celebrate his 16th birthday in September and will turn 18 before the November 2024 presidential general election.
His passion: recycling.
“I’m an environmentalist. I control all the trash in the house. That’s my job,” said Micah, who’s homeschooled along with his 13-year-old sister Mischa, also a camp participant. “People are uneducated in the art of recycling. Recycling can actually save them money. Also, keeps the environment clean.”
For more information on this and other teen programs and activities, go to https://pgcmls.info/teens.
This article was written by The Washington Informer, read more articles like this here.
Photo: Micah Smith (right) talks with his sister, Mischa Smith (left) and Camryn Kelly at a social justice camp at the Spauldings Branch library in District Heights, Maryland, on Aug. 3. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
