on our own terms

In on our own terms, ­­­­­­Sista II Sista talk about the importance of the personal is political. They discuss how internal change and community empowerment is the key to real change.

Sista II Sista discuss how that relationship can be used as a means of change through individual healing and larger community empowerment. Both parts of this relationship are equal and necessary in order for real change to happen. When I saw the term individual healing, it reminded me of a J Cole lyric, “the only real revolution happens right inside of you”. That lyric itself is enough to illustrate the importance of introspection, but the whole song this lyric is from also talks about how mentally and emotionally taxing trying to bring about change is. 

“Personal healing in isolation from a larger community cannot transform the world; neither can social action without personal and emotional development”. This quote from the reading really resonated with me because while I understood how important community engagement is, my thinking was limited to “events” like marches or a fundraising event after a crisis. Sista II Sista use events like street theater and block parties to provide emotional support to the larger community. Before reading this, I would have been more skeptical as to how something like a party could be political. I wonder if those who organize community events in my community consciously do it as form of political statement or a means of empowering the community?

Within Chicago, there are many organizations that have programs like youth leadership and creative arts like the AAAN. The Arab American Action Network has a youth program that started with a few high school students interested in spoken word and hip hop. It has since served as a place for the youth in the community to creatively express themselves and be involved in the larger community even having a youth-led town hall meeting as part of their campaign against racial profiling. Programs like this are what gives activists, especially young activists, a chance to make a change within their communities and even beyond their communities.

AAAN's Youth-Led Town Hall Meeting 

I’d like to further discuss the importance of youth involvement within community programs and what happens when they're not given a voice or an outlet to express themselves through.