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The 2023 youth membership cycle began in October 2022; we held Affinity Spaces for prospective members.
In January, returning youth members and other high school students from around Miami-Dade were welcomed into our Orientation phase. This orientation phase was broken up into ten sessions; these sessions are workshops that begin building skills needed as a member. To become a member, each student must attend 80%. These sessions led up to our annual Membership Signing Day on February 18th.
“The first session was good, I was a bit nervous to talk to new people but I got used to it after hearing others share .I liked everyone’s comments after Jose shared his story. I liked how nobody judged him or his situation that encouraged me to share.”
“Today’s session was fun; including the mafia game made everything much more fun and enjoyable. We are learning how research is conducted and how it’s essential to Power U’s work. I’m looking forward to doing that game again; it could help us connect with new members.”
“I liked today’s session; it was exciting. Calling different people and seeing how everyone reacts to certain situations was an enjoyable learning experience. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone and getting deeper involved.”
We welcomed 34 high school students into the 2023 membership cycle at Signing Day on February 18th. Parents & community members came out to witness and celebrate the beginning of their journey as members. We held this event at Belafonte Talcocy Center.
“After joining Power U, I realized there’s still a lot I don’t know, and that’s okay. I choose to stay, so I can learn and grow with others as we educate ourselves about what’s happening. I look forward to more community involvement. I want us to expand our connections to immigrant community members about what we’re trying to do and gain their support.”
“Hope will always lead the way to destiny. Faith is the key to success. While I feel some transformation, I don’t feel like I’ve changed in all the ways I want to, but with time comes greatness, so I’ll get there eventually.”
“From the beginning of orientation to now, I’ve mostly changed my communication and social skills. I’ve discovered new things about myself that I didn’t know or thought I would never do, like canvassing and facilitating with people I didn’t know. And what I am looking forward to is knowing what is happening in the community and building relationships.”
On March 18th, several youth members and organizers joined hundreds of others by participating in the march supporting Immokalee workers. This 50-mile march spanned over five days to improve pay, working conditions and stop the labor exploitation of Florida farmers.
The CIW (Coalition of Immokalee Workers) has been an organization of farm workers fighting for human rights and fair wages for over 20 years. They have led a campaign to influence big companies to join the Fair Food Program. This program gives farmworkers a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect their lives and prevents labor abuse.
The march was organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), an organization of farm workers that have been fighting for human rights and fair wages for over 20 years. We were joined by student activists from Florida universities, community leaders, and community organizers.
“I decided to attend the march because I agreed with the message that all the people attending were trying to send. Which is it’s not fair how these people are working so hard to provide clean and healthy food. Farmers have to plant, grow, and harvest all that fresh produce we find in our restaurants and stores. Yet, they still aren’t being paid fair; it’s wrong and unacceptable.
I learned that while some people sit around and do nothing, others get up and stand for what is right; this whole campaign showed me how a community and even other organizations could come together to achieve a common goal that affects everyone.” – Jordan Norteus
Our listening campaign generally focuses on two things: finding out the concerns of our community and building the skills of our youth. Previously, we’ve stayed close to home, canvassing around the Power U office and schools in the vicinity. This year we’ve decided to leave the community around our office and venture into the neighborhood of the schools we’ve been building with this year. We want to emphasize these schools’ importance and utility to the community. Schools like Miami Jackson and Miami Central are opening up their doors to us after hours so we can effectively gather information about the community’s needs and share information about the work happening and support available via the schools. In building relationships with schools, we can better serve our community, determine what issues directly impact them, and work with the community and school to address these needs collectively. We hope to build with all schools in the District 2 area so that the needs of the parents, students, teachers, AND community members are addressed with every possible resource available- including our public schools.
We recognize that community and alums support is paramount in the success of a school, as much as the ability for schools to mold and support its students and staff is paramount in the success of a community. We believe that by building with public schools and utilizing and emphasizing their resources, we can combat the attack on public education and the lack of resources and support provided to the communities they support. We recognize the “hidden” but significant financial and curriculum challenges in the school district that will continue to impact our neighborhood schools that have continuously served our students with the most need. We want to strengthen the relationship between schools and communities and reignite the spirit of collaboration at a time when it’s needed more than ever.
In May we began some mobilization efforts; we celebrated the fifth release of our zine, “Principles of Unity.” This issue had over ten submissions of various arts, poems, music, stories, and more. Special thanks to the organizations who showed up and shared resources during our org fair: Black Men Build, The Black Collective, Engage Miami, Fanm Saj, Inc, Florida Student Power, Institute of Wholistic Empowerment, Miami DSA, Miami Dade Public Library System, and YDSA FIU. You can download a digital copy of our zine here.
At this same event, our youth members & organizers held the 1st town hall of the year. During this meeting space, community members were invited to share concerns and issues and participate in our campaign work. Our next Community Town Hall will be July 15th, more information to come.
In June, we held a three-day Organizing Assembly to prepare our youth members for this Phase’s canvass and space to work on their current campaigns. During this session, we also created Instagram Reels based on our committees: Reproductive Justice, Restorative Justice, and Environmental Justice. Our summer canvass around school sites aims to gather concerned residents to attend our town hall and take action on school and county budgets.
In June, we held a three-day Organizing Assembly to prepare our youth members for this Phase’s canvass and space to work on their current campaigns. During this session, we also created Instagram Reels based on our committees: Reproductive Justice, Restorative Justice, and Environmental Justice. Our summer canvass around school sites aims to gather concerned residents to attend our town hall and take action on school and county budgets.
Environmental Justice
The Environmental Justice Committee’s (EJ) focus was seeking to have conversations with city and county commissioners to prioritize funds towards proper road infrastructure and community trash and recycling bins in our neighborhoods. They aim to foster intergenerational civic engagement, problem-solving, and collaboration that calls on our elected officials to meet the needs of their constituents directly.
Reproductive Justice
The Reproductive Justice Committee’s (RJ) issue is the lack of Healthcare access for working-class youth with the greatest need in our community. COVID’s long-term effects are only an additional reason why we must ensure our students have access to services through full-time nurses being made non-discretionary (mandatory) budget items at Miami public schools.
In addition, RJ is seeing the battles and attacks on health education and demanding secure access to comprehensive, accurate, age-appropriate education relevant to our students’ lived experiences. This leads us to our last demand: access to resources, such as menstrual and other hygiene products and medication, with education around the reason and stigma around periods and poverty. The committee will speak to the board seeking an agreement that amid a million-dollar budget deficit and inflation, our students with the greatest need require the most outstanding support.
Restorative Justice (Counselors Not Cops)
The Counselors Not Cops Committee (CNC) worked to create a Restorative Justice-focused campaign for the 2023 year. CNC’s purpose is to dismantle the School to Prison Pipeline. They want to improve Restorative Justice implementation in MDCPS to reduce punitive exclusionary practices such as suspensions and expulsions disproportionately used to punish black and brown students. The CNC committee has come up with some tentative demands, which we will concretize as we continue to meet with and hear from decision-makers in the district.
Some of the things CNC is looking at are the possibility of hiring district-wide Restorative Justice Coordinators, more opportunities for student engagement and training in Restorative Justice Practices, revising the Code of Student Conduct to list Restorative Justice Practices as a corrective strategy for Level 3 behaviors, and that data on Restorative Justice implementation in MDCPS be made public. CNC secured meetings with two of our nine school board members and also met with Dr. Linda Amica-Roberts, the Administrative Director of School Leadership and Performance and an authority on Restorative Justice Practices in MDCPS.
July is particularly busy for Power U as it is at the height of our mobilization phase. From wrapping up canvassing, hosting a community town hall, and rallying for the MDCPS budget hearing meeting. We are still basking in the glow of witnessing our youth members, teachers, parents, and community members express their demands at the MDCPS District Budget hearing.
“I am so grateful to be a part of an organization invested in the transformation and growth of folks’ leadership.” Jessica Martin | Organizing Director
For Reproductive Justice:
At the MDCPS Budget Town Hall, many people spoke about the need for full-time mandatory licensed nurses, and the school board members had to voice their own. The Superintendent said that the district must and is attempting to get creative and prioritize the health of our students. In addition, our ability to uplift the concerns of students who experience period poverty and other forms of hardship will allow us to continue our mission of collaborating with the school board to ensure that all students’ needs are being considered and addressed. We will continue to meet and advocate for our partnership with the district’s new School Pantry program and for either voting power or direct representation on the educational materials advisory committee, which will begin forming in September. The board was so moved there was an item added to see the feasibility of having menstrual products provided at all schools. The agenda item passed, and the report on whether or not it is possible is due on September 30th.
For Counselors Not Cops: On July 19, school board member Lucia-Baez Geller introduced an item that called to explore the feasibility of expanding RJ practices, which came from a CNC meeting with her weeks prior. We thank her for her efforts and for pushing the conversation forward.
On July 26, we testified at the budget hearing. We called for the Department of School Operations to release an annual report on the progress of restorative justice practices in MDCPS and to create an Advisory Committee of the school board focused on RJ practices with students, parents, guardians, teachers, counselors, and RJ practitioners as members. As a result of our work and Ms. Baez-Geller’s support, school operations must submit a comprehensive report on restorative justice practices in the district to the school board in early December – after which, we can continue to push for things that will bolster implementation, such as full-time district-wide RJ Coordinators. Our campaign has not ended with the budget hearing and will continue for the foreseeable future!
Watch Us Give Testimony at MDCPS Here
In September, we held our annual Membership Congress. This historical two-day event is one of the most critical moments of our year because this is a space where members and key stakeholders come together, reflect on the past year, and make strategic intentions for the year ahead.
Youth members participated in workshops to review their campaign work and discuss how their strategies worked out. Each member devised an action plan using the assessments for the upcoming months. As our organization seeks to expand intergenerationally, alumni, parents, teachers, and community supporters were invited to attend this year.
As we have seen this year, with a college education being under attack, there is a necessity now, more than ever, to organize at the college level. This year, we have expanded the reach of our alums/ college-aged young adults who want to remain involved in Power U or new folks seeking to join an organization.
Alie Francois (Alumni Organizer) and Karla Peralta (Alumni) have recently founded Power U @ FIU with eight current members; they aim to continue organizing at the college level.
It was an honor attending my first congress and being able to hear inspiring and powerful words of conviction from our emerging leaders. I am looking forward to seeing the organization continue to grow and the great work in our communities our young people are doing.
The PowerU 2023 Congress surpassed all expectations! It was an intergenerational youth-driven event that revealed what’s possible when we cultivate the best in one another.
To see youth leadership and be amongst their energy was inspiring. As an alumni of Power U, it was fulfilling to come back and see the work evolve to a much higher level. Something extraordinary is happening at Power U, and I’m excited to be a part of it and support where I can.
