We used to pick it - now they want us to smoke it! |
July, 1997 / Vol. 2, No. 5
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| The "Third Annual Community
Youth Debate and Speak Out!" is a great chance for San Francisco youth to let the
rest of the City hear their take on ideas and current events. This year the event takes
place on Saturday, August 2nd, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at the San Francisco Main Public
Library, Koret Auditorium. Youth are encouraged to express their points of view in the
form of poems, raps, speeches, and monologues. To choose this year's topics, youth from all over San Francisco answered surveys on what issues were most important to them. From a list of twenty-two topics, which ranged from ebonics to religion in schools, the youth chose four topics: violence, drugs, HIV/AIDS, and teen sexuality. The San Francisco African American Tobacco Free Project is offering a prize of $50.00 to the best health related presentation, and $25.00 to the first four people who give a tobacco related presentation. Currently youth are training at local community centers to polish up their public speaking and research skills in preparation for the big day. If you are between the ages of 11 and 19 and want your voice to be heard in this year's Speak Out! Call Lisa Manning at (415) 777-3229. |
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| Thanks to the help of several of the SFAATFP's young advocates: Lashona Gaspard, Pamela Hancock, Jamika Johnson, Jazzemekia Johnson, Orieyonna Johnson, Shameka Knight, Ashley Taylor, and Jocelyn Taylor, the SFAATFP completed its Purchase Surveys on June 24th. The youth spent their evenings and Saturdays visiting a total of fifty-two stores in Bayview, Western Addition, Tenderloin, Ingleside, and the outer Mission, attempting to buy cigarettes. The SFAATFP was pleased to find that all but four merchants were in compliance with the STAKE Act (stop tobacco access to kids enforcement act) and refused to sell cigarettes to our advocates. | ||
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| Congratulations to Pamela Hancock, the SFAATFP's
advocate of the month. Pamela Hancock became an advocate through our contact with Ella
Hill Hutch Community Center. She attended our first internet training in April and helped
us conduct two days of purchase surveys. Pamela is 15 years old and will be in tenth grade at George Washington High School in September. Pamela's favorite subject is science and she would like to be a doctor one day. |
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| On June 16th, in celebration of Juneteenth, the
SFAATFP brought a storyteller, JoAnn Buckner, to the Girls After School Academy. Fifteen
girls ranging from ages 4 to 14 sat mesmerized by Ms. Buckner's tales of a beautiful
little African girl, Br'er Rabbit, and slaves who could fly. There was a lot for both
adults and children to learn about storytelling, and the adult spectators found themselves
as involved in Ms. Buckner's imaginary world as the youth. Ms. Buckner explained that historically African storytelling was used as a sort of medicine or therapy. Stories were told to the sick and they were slowly healed because of them. Stories were also used to help members of a community with problem solving, defining appropriate behavior, and establishing cultural norms. Most of the girls were surprised to learn that Br'er Rabbit, a character who was created by slaves, is the ancestor of our modern day Bugs Bunny. Good lessons to learn at Juneteenth! |
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