Silver & True Blue Battle

Here's what went down at the Silver & True Blue Battle. Everybody and there mama's was there so if you missed out here are some flicks to catch you up.

Support for the Pico Youth and Family Center

This fall, while taking a Sociology class that focused on social problems, I learned about and began volunteering at the Pico Youth and Family Center (PYFC), and I am extremely grateful that I did.

The PYFC is a nonprofit organization located in the City of Santa Monica. This center came about as a result of a movement that arose in the Pico Neighborhood in 1998 to combat the increase of youth violence in the community. The community organized a 1,000 people march called The Vigil for Peace, which has been the largest demonstration for peace in the City’s history. Members of the community also organized actions at City Hall that resulted in the City of Santa Monica funding youth development efforts. The PYFC opened its doors in February of 2002. They serve youth between the ages of 16 to 24 and, although youth from all backgrounds are welcome at the center, about 10% are African American and 76% are Latino—this can be explained by the historical concentration of low-income minority groups in the Pico Neighborhood in Santa Monica.  The mission of the PYFC is: “To equip disenfranchised youth and their families with the leadership skills needed to strengthen and sustain the community in which they live. To promote peace, unity, and social justice by modeling cooperation and advancing educational and economic opportunity. Through creative programs we will work to instill hope in our youth by engaging them in creating solutions to our community’s problems.”

The PYFC provides services such as tutoring, job development, case management, music programs, leadership councils, and they have groups in which they discuss gender specific issues.

The PYFC houses the City's first-ever public recording studio.

This photo was taken by one of the youth from the PYFC, Marcus T.

This photo was taken by one of the youth from the PYFC, Marcus T.

The founder and Executive Director of the PYFC is Oscar de la Torre, a lifelong resident of the Pico Neighborhood. In an educational flyer about the center, it is stated: “Oscar founded the PYFC with the belief that youth violence is a product of various social and economic factors that contribute to feelings of inferiority, powerlessness and hopelessness. His hope is that the PYFC provides quality services to youth and simultaneously works to develop the leadership capacity of low-income communities so that the solutions of the people become institutionalized.”

The PYFC is currently in danger of being defunded and ultimately being shut down by the City of Santa Monica. This began as an attack on Oscar in an attempt to force him to resign his position as Executive Director—without providing any reasoning—by December 1, 2012 and appoint a city official to take his place without the staff or community having any say in the matter. A city consultant also criticized the PYFC for having posters of Malcolm X and César Chávez on the walls, and recommended that social justice be removed from the organization’s mission statement.

I also want to point out that in October 2012, the PYFC inherited $1.6 million dollars that philanthropist Peggy Bergmann donated to the center in her will. That check is being withheld from the PYFC and it is currently unclear what will be done with it. A City Town Hall meeting was to be held on December 11, 2012 where the city was to decide whether to defund the PYFC. The youth started a petition to gain support to keep Oscar as ED and social justice in the mission statement, and a rally to the meeting was being organized. This response did not go over well and the City abruptly removed the PYFC from the agenda a few days prior to the meeting and without announcing when it would be rescheduled.  

A few days ago, the city informed the PYFC that their slot in the agenda has been rescheduled to Tuesday (1/8/13). We are urgently trying to reorganize a rally to the City Town Hall meeting to support the PYFC. We will meet at the Pico Youth and Family Center (715 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica 90405) at 4:30 p.m. and march to the City Hall (1685 Main St., SM 90401) where the meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Please come—dressed in black—and support an organization that implements grassroots movements to bring awareness and advocacy to issues that affect our communities. This is an organization created by the people, for the people, and in the image of our people and it is being targeted because of that. The PYFC is not only fighting to end youth violence, it is also combating institutional racism, poverty, and the lack of resources and services provided to minority communities. These issues are all interconnected and should be issues that we can all come together to stand up against. Please come show support and spread the word! I hope to see you all there. Believe WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!

Written by Nury C.

We've Arrived...And Hope To Stimulate Your Minds!

Hello all! As the Piece Mag family continues to expand, we’d like to tell you a little about ourselves. We are Nury and Zury—yes, really—23 year old twins, born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. We both graduated from Venice High and are currently attending Santa Monica College. We’ve both grown up with a love and interest for art, film, music, soccer and community, among many things. Both of us also identify as feminists, and have a special interest in women’s issues and how they pertain to society as whole; we believe these issues are all interconnected and hope to enlighten some of you on such topics throughout our time here with Piece Magazine.

Zury has always had a passion for music and soccer. She has played since about age 12 and was able to play for Santa Monica College during her freshmen year. Her passion for music began as a child but escalated while in high school as she joined the choir there for 3 years. At SMC, she’s dabbled in subjects such as music, philosophy, political science, sociology and women’s studies. All have interested her—as well as helped mold her—and more recently she has taken a liking with women’s studies, pop culture, and, in turn, the media. She was able to work with the ERA Education Project and its founder Kamala Lopez via a women’s Studies class led by Melanie Klein. She (as well as her classmates) blogged, researched, conducted interviews, and composed a curriculum, which was then piloted at Lennox Middle School (and will possibly be implemented in other schools). The project was created to inform people about the Equal Rights Amendment (which has yet to be passed), which would grant women full equality under the law—something that she and Nury consider of grave importance.

Zury

                                                             

 Zury is also very interested in media literacy (the ability to analyze, evaluate, and create messages within media facets) because media is a very important and ingrained part of our society. She hopes to enlighten herself, as well as others to ways of comprehending the real messages we receive and how they influence our everyday lives, and in turn inspire others to create alternative, positive messages that can create change as well as promote unity and equality for all.

Nury also has a passion for music, soccer, art, and sociology. She enjoys many genres of music but her current interests have led her to really appreciate and love house music. Growing up, soccer had always been a part of her life and she began playing at age 12 as well. She also grew up with an interest in drawing and in her sophomore year in high school she began to focus on learning to paint. She began attending community college with the intention of majoring in art, but after her first year she realized that she considered it more of a hobby than a career opportunity for herself. The following year, Nury began taking Philosophy courses that changed her life, helping her grow intellectually and further develop her critical thinking skills. Once she thought she had found her major of interest in Philosophy, everything changed when she took an introductory course in Sociology. This too changed her life and allowed her to view the world in a different perspective that she believes has guided her to think more critically about the world we live in. Sociology helped her redefine and develop an interest in many social problems, especially gender inequality, racism, poverty, environmental issues, and the form of the political system. 

Nury

                                                              

Nury is interested in learning and acknowledging how the society we live in and it's structure affects humans and how we behave. She is dedicated to informing others in order to raise awareness and inspire critical thinking. She aspires to become a sociological researcher that will publish work to inform the masses and work towards promoting the proper seeking of solutions to social problems and, therefore, to inspire social change.

Nury C. (left) and Zury C. (right)

                                                        

Zury and I look forward to sharing our ideas, thoughts, and opinions with you all in order to expose you to different (and maybe familiar) interpretations of concepts that will hopefully spark interests and curiosity in your minds and inspire you to think critically and discuss these ideas with others. Whether you agree with what we will bring to the table or not, the important thing is to consider different perspectives to either influence a new understanding or to strengthen your own beliefs. The advice that has helped us shape who we are and our thinking, that we will always carry with us and promote, is "Question EVERYTHING and THINK critically!"