Latest News
SWYC General Assembly: Investing in Community
As a community-based organization with a board of directors comprised of both youth and adults, the Southwest Youth Collaborative strongly encourages young people and families to invest in the potential of the SWYC by playing an active role as a member and participating in the process for electing board members.
This year, SWYC's General Assembly will feature prospective youth and adult board members and be a vital opportunity for you to participate in this process, and ultimately decision-making processes affecting youth, children and families of the greater Chicago area. All are welcome to attend!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
6pm - 7:30pm
Marquette Park Fieldhouse
6734 S Kedzie Ave map
This is a critical time for our voices to be heard!
Apply for Membership:
Member Application - Spanish
Please send to the front office at 6400 S. Kedzie. For inquiries: khadijah@swyc.org or 773-476-3534.
Spring Break Recap: Two Successful College Tours!
During Spring Break this month, the Educational Talent Search and Urban Options programs of the Southwest Youth Collaborative took a total of 68 youth from 14 separate high schools and alternative programs on college tours across the country, and did it in two separate trips!
The Urban Options Workforce Development program took a group that traveled on the historic black colleges & universities tour, giving students from Chicago's southwest side the opportunity to visit college campuses, speak with college students, and learn about struggles that people of color have overcome for a quality education. According to Maria Sarabia, the trip "created a sense of camaraderie and community amongst the students, where we held each other accountable to our actions and represented Chicago with pride." Read More...
Spotlight on the University of Hip Hop
Check out this video introduction to SWYC's University of Hip Hop, featuring instructors, artists and youth from SWYC's arts & cultural programming.
Thank you Luz G. from Columbia College for putting this together! This video can also be found on youtube
Southwest Community Coalition Youth Summit to be held on December 13th
The Southwest Community Youth Leadership Summit '08 will be hosted by the Southwest Community Coalition to provide options and opportunities for our youth and community. Youth age 14-21 are invited to attend the day long summit on Saturday, December 13th from 8AM to 5PM at Maria High School located at 6727 S California Ave., Chicago, IL 60629.
At 6pm following the youth leadership summit, SWYC will be hosting an optional social event organized by youth leaders at the Amandla Center at 6400 S. Kedzie, Chicago, IL 60629.
Click here for details & registration
Joining Forces with the U.S. Human Rights Network
On December 9th, the U.S. Human Rights Network hosted SWYC youth for the 2007 Human Rights Conference at the Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois.
They experienced human rights training workshops, guest speakers from around the country and networked with national, regional, and local grassroots organizations that are utilizing the human rights framework in their day to day work. The conference's cultural opening was held at SWYC's Amandla Center the night before, where attendees shared their artistic talents, music, and energy with a unique group of youth and activists in town for the conference. Read More
Town Hall Meeting
On December 8th, SWYC youth played a vital role in uniting with various Chicago groups to discuss issues facing today's African American men. Calling on social change agents, members of faith-based communities, entrepreneurs, community based organizations, educators, elected officials, and others concerned about the future of Black people, the BMBI Town Hall meeting was an inspiring chance for people to come together and discuss our quality of life in the 21st Century.
Reconnecting to Hip Hop Roots
Students from SWYC's University of Hip Hop helped organize the 2007 Hip Hop & Youth Empowerment Summit on November 29, 2007.
Hip Hop after school programs, organizers, political action committees, and various allies convened at Depaul University for an evening of speak out sessions, panel discussions, performances, art, information distribution, and speeches. The evening served to reconnect to the roots of Hip Hop, educate youth on the different actions being taken in the name of social justice, and inspire positive lifestyles. Read More
Nine SWYC Youth travel to Oakland, California
Billed as Harry Belafonte's Gathering for Justice, the world renowned humanitarian called a national conference of youth to gather in Oakland for the weekend of November 19 to address their pressing issues and spark their consciousness to continue the work of his generation and those before him on the train of justice. Youth came to Oakland from Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago and Detroit, as well as California.
While nine SWYC Youth were afforded the opportunity to participate in this unique national conference, dozens more attended the regional Chicago Gathering for Justice, held a few weeks earlier on November 3rd at the Gary Comer Youth Center. At the Chicago Gathering, local community based and social justice organizations, networks, and coalitions, including civil, human political rights groups, came to an understanding that collective actions are necessary to stop the criminalization and incarceration of whole generations of low income children, and took crucial steps towards learning from each other and planning those actions.
Teaching for Social Justice Resources
On November 10, SWYC participated in the Teaching for Social Justice Curriculum Fair in Pilsen, Chicago.
The Teaching for Social Justice Curriculum Fair, organized by Teachers for Social Justice of Chicago, is like a Science or History Fair, except volunteer educators and youth "present" and share ideas for bringing topics of social justice into the classroom. SWYC shared our Know Your Rights resources, youth-produced media, and youth research on zero tolerance policies and the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track with fellow Chicago teachers and students.
Humane Conditions Now for Juvenile Detention Center
Concerned Youth are confronting the city on the neglect of Residents at County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center, which are between 11 and 20 years old.
On July 31st, youth from around Chicago held a press conference and rally demanding that Cook County Board President Todd Stroger respect the dignity of Children residing at the Cook County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center (Audy Home).
Federal courts have since appointed a new Temporary Administrator to the Detention Center, and on October 29th at Marquette Community School, SWYC Youth worked again with city groups to hold a teach-in and rally about the current state of conditions. With Earl Dunlap, the new Detention Center Administrator, in attendance, students spoke out for immediate humane conditions, a restorative, community-based alternative to the Detention Center, and a re-direction of city funds into schools, employment, and youth services. Read More
Greater Lawn Celebrates Dia De Los Muertos
After the initial fear and fright of Halloween sets in, our days simmer down to a more solemn and spiritual mood as we enter the days to come remembering our loved ones and celebrating their lives with prayer, poetry, music, song, dance, food, flowers, and the recantation of stories in their honor. This year on November 1st, the Greater Lawn Community Youth Network celebrated the wonderful tradition of Dia de los Muertos to honor those who have entered Mictlan (the Spirit World). Those attending enjoyed Tamales and Mexican hot chocolate, while sharing pictures and stories of loved ones.
Graffiti Revolution on Chicago's Southwest Side
On Sunday, October 7th, the SWYC family celebrated the unveiling of a beautiful new mural — a symbolic expression of local struggles against the criminalization of youth, and an examination of the community's vision for youth liberation in Chicago and beyond.
Commemorating the 15-year anniversary of the incorporation of the SWYC, the mural contains symbols and images identified through a community process with youth and staff of the AAAN, IMAN, Generation Y, and other youth program-focused organizations from the surrounding area. This project is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a State agency.
Among the powerful images portrayed in the mural are busts of Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago, who passed away in 1987, and nationally renowned Palestinian community organizer Samir Odeh, who died of a heart attack in Jerusalem in 1994 and was one of the founders of both the Arab Community Center and the AAAN in Chicago. Also highlighted in the mural are composite sketches of African American, Latino, Native, Arab, and other female and male youth—representative of the multi-national character of the southwest side of Chicago and the long and positive history of youth development work in the area. Read More
Project YES Heads East For College Tour
In May, a large group of Hubbard students, parent chaperones and SWYC staff left for a week-long tour of colleges along the East Coast as a part of SWYC's Project Yes program.
They visited the cities of Baltimore, Washington D.C. and New York and experienced Coppin State University, Morgan State University, Howard University and Columbia University. While in Washington, the group also be met Congressman Bobby Rush and visited the White House, Washington Monument, The National Mall and the Smithsonian Museum. After visiting Columbia University and sightseeing in New York City, they were warmly welcomed back to SWYC and the Windy City.
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