Chance the Rapper and IntegrateNYC4Me Speak on America's Public School Crisis

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Earlier this month, Chance the Rapper met with Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and challenged him to “do your job” and adequately fund Chicago’s public schools (Chance subsequently put his own money up, making a $1 million donation to Chicago schools). After the meeting, Chance challenged the media, and Complex in particular, to “give a comprehensive history of how we got here.”

So, where is “here”? A 21st-century America—not just Chicago—rife with apartheid schools that serve almost exclusively Black and Brown students, are chronically underfunded, and struggle to fulfill every student’s right to the quality education that can give them a fair shot at success. An America more interested in funding the school-to-prison pipeline than public schools themselves. An America where we spend less than $10,000 a year to educate a child but anywhere from $35,000 to $64,000 to incarcerate one.

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Vice Features Hebh Jamal for International Women's Day

“We must love America enough to change it” – Bronx-born Hebh Jamal, 17, explains why resistance isn’t futile.

Hebh Jamal made her political debut on the cover of the New York Times; since then the Bronx High School student's activism has remained impressively high profile, whether staging a strike following Trump's inauguration, being interviewed by the Observer and Broadly or talking on a panel with Angela Davis. An advocate for education since she was 15-years-old, Jamal has become increasingly active as she attempts to execute her vision for a more conscious, harmonious, educated society - regardless what executive orders Trump's government try to pass.

In celebration of IWD, we asked this formidable female to tell us about her type of activism, and what she intends to do to challenge political Islamophobia.

"Oppression has always manifested itself in three ways: lack of safety, vulnerability, and intimidation through a set power structure. In America, the demonisation of Muslim Americans has been perpetuated by the media, Hollywood, and government policy. What I was in fact perplexed by was this new rhetoric that is seemingly founded on oblivion surrounding the current situation of America: that Muslims are newly under attack by public officials. The reality is that we have been under attack during both Democratic and Republican presidencies. The only difference now is that this presidency aims to demonise all marginalised groups at the same time.

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Teach Us All Film Premiers at SXSWedu

Teach Us All and IntegrateNYC4Me Selected As Must-See Panel

The 74, a non-profit, non-partisan news site covering education in America, and Big Tomorrow, a multi-disciplinary design firm specializing in the creation of paradigm-shifting experiences, both highlighted the Teach Us All panel featuring IntegrateNYC4Me as a must see at this year's SXSWedu.

Check out their other recommendations at South by Southwest Education: The 17 Panels and Sessions to See at SXSW 2017 and BT’s SXSWedu 2017 Picks.

SXSWedu Announces Panel Featuring IntegrateNYC4Me

The SXSWedu® Conference & Festival fosters innovation in learning by hosting a passionate and diverse community of education stakeholders. The seventh annual SXSWedu will return to Austin, March 6-9, 2017, for four days of compelling sessions, in-depth workshops, engaging learning experiences, mentorship, film screenings, startup events, policy-centered discussions, business opportunities, networking and so much more! Through collaboration, creativity and social action, SXSWedu empowers its global community to connect, discover and impact.

As part of the SXSWedu Film program, panels following select screenings allow attendees to connect with voices from in front of and behind the camera. This year, Teach Us All was selected to be screened followed by a panel including IntegrateNYC4Me lead student activist, Hebh Jamal, and Co-Director, Sarah Camiscoli.

Read the full announcement here.

Helping Students Process the Election of Donald Trump

"Following the recent presidential election, some communities are feeling vulnerable and fearful that the potential policies of the new administration might affect them negatively. While children of those communities may be feeling the same anxiety, they're not necessarily able to process and understand these very adult concepts. Teachers are on the front line helping their students navigate the world, but how are they speaking with their students about the recent election and the potential impact on their lives?

Here to tell us about some of the challenges teachers are facing in this politically charged climate are David Bloomfield, Professor of Educational Leadership at Brooklyn College, and Sarah Camiscoli, Co-Founder and Co-Director of IntegrateNYC4Me, an advocacy organization focused on increasing diversity in New York City public schools."

Love Still Trumps Fear

"After receiving a flood of worried text messages on election night, Camiscoli gave [IntegrateNYC4Me Activists] the option to write a letter. On brightly colored paper, each stamped with a heart and the words 'Love Trumps Fear,' she asked them to to send a message to any community that might need to hear something positive.

Rather than despair, the letters are full of encouragement.

'No matter what happens, we have to accept it and plan to move forward,' reads one, addressed to fellow students. 'You have a dream ahead you have to hold onto.'

Another letter, addressed to the LGBT community, says, 'I just want to tell you that you are strong, you are beautiful and that you are brave.'"

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How to Talk About the Election with Students

"Sarah Camiscoli, who runs a group for the school's older students called IntegrateNYC4Me, said she asked them "to write letters of love and hope to people they think may have lost it," or who may feel scared or angry.

Amera Attalah, 16, who is Muslim, wrote to Muslims who worry they're not American enough. 'If you don't discourage yourself, it is impossible for the negativity of others to infiltrate your consciousness,' she said."

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The Century Foundation Reports on IntegrateNYC4Me's Role in City-Wide Change

As the largest school district in the U.S. and one of the most segregated, New York City "officials have taken preliminary steps to make diversity a consideration in more of the district’s policies." Read the full article to hear more about the actions being taken and the role of IntegrateNYC4Me in ensuring the diversity of our city is brought into the classrooms of every school.

IntegrateNYC4Me Lead Student Activist Shares Her Thoughts with the Ethics in Education Network

The Value of “What do you think?”

By Hebh Jamal

The greatest question any authoritative figure can ask a child or a student. Inclusivity in all aspects of decision making is vital, but it is most important in our schools.

I would like to consider myself a youth activist working to diversify a segregated school system, and yet while legislation is the ultimate goal in any reform process, it is the student advocates that create change from the bottom on up.

In December of last year, I had the opportunity to speak at an integrated high school. Students from all racial, economic, and educational backgrounds were in a single classroom. I stepped into the main office, and READ MORE

No Scan Zone: De Blasio Announces Metal Detector Changes

The IntegrateNYC4Me advocates from District 15 have called for the removal of the scanners in their school, which students walk through every day. The students point to the incredible harm this does to students' dignity, the vast statistics that show the disparity of scanner placements meaning they disproportionately harm poor students of color, and the damage surveillance does to a sense of community within a school building.

After the advocates painted a mural and held an unveiling in their community, inviting political leaders and other activists, Mayor de Blasio announced "the city’s first formal protocols for adding and removing metal detectors from schools." Read more about the story here. 

Photos by Cassandra Giraldo 

Talking about Race in the Classroom

Chalkbeat interviewed parents, students, and teachers across the city to discuss how to have powerful conversations about racism and police violence. Hebh Jamal, our Lead Student Activist, and Sarah Camiscoli, IntegrateNYC4Me Co-Director, share their voice and a vision for systemic solutions to systemic issues. READ MORE