Community Building Against Oppression: Melanated Youth

11/22/22 • 23 min

Students Ahsha Jones and Chloe Serrano founded Melanated Youth, a BIPOC youth-led coalition that uplifts members of the community who need it most. The coalition provides resources and organizes demonstrations to end inequality on all fronts through mutual aids, protests, and discourse. Ahsha and Chloe are based in Orange County, California, but they plan to expand the coalition's impact across the nation. This action-led group relies on the support of fellow community members who volunteer, donate, or participate in Melanated Youth's events. Their anti-oppression efforts are "by the people, for the people."

Melanated Youth and Closing the Gap acknowledge that Orange County lies on unceded Tongva land.

Melanated Youth Resources:

Website

Social Media - Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn

Support Iranian Protests:

Middle East Matters Action Items

Definitions:

Decolonize - to free from the dominating influence of a colonizing power

AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander)

Femicide - an extreme form of gender-based violence where women are killed because they are female

Xenophobic - prejudice against people from other countries

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Melanated Youth and Closing the Gap acknowledge that Orange County lies on unceded Tongva land.

Melanated Youth Resources:

Website

Social Media - Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn

Support Iranian Protests:

Middle East Matters Action Items

Definitions:

Decolonize - to free from the dominating influence of a colonizing power

AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander)

Femicide - an extreme form of gender-based violence where women are killed because they are female

Xenophobic - prejudice against people from other countries

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Previous Episode

Making Mental Health Services More Accessible with Sergio Maldonado

Sergio Maldonado is a Counseling Psychology Ph.D. student at Purdue University from Pomona, California. His research examines therapeutic experiences of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated community to find culturally-relevant practices that provide support during life after incarceration. As a therapist in training, Sergio has worked with people from a variety of backgrounds, including rural communities, refugees, and factory workers. Sergio advocates for more accessibility to therapy, especially for low-income and other underserved communities, and speaks out against practices in the psychological field that perpetuate biases and prevent therapists from fully serving their clients.

Sergio’s Work:

Interview by HOMIE HEART Check

Partner organizations:

McNair Scholars Program

Prison Education Project

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Cover art by Vivian Garcia (@viv_doodles)

Intro and Outro music: Clocks by Smith the Mister (All rights and credit go to Smith the Mister. No copyright infringements intended)

Next Episode

The Gente in Gentrification

Gentrification impacts communities around the world. It can lead to increased cost of living, displacement of long-term residents, and discriminatory behavior. We analyze gentrification trends in México City, Puerto Vallarta, and California and use them as examples of a larger issue. To allocate resources fairly, policies and practices should be created and implemented by local communities rather than foreign investors, who tend to prioritize profit over people's well-being. As travelers and as immigrants, we acknowledge that by us moving to new areas we influence the local culture, and we can do so in a way without uprooting the lives of those who were there before us. ("Gente" means "people" in Spanish)

At Closing the Gap we acknowledge that the above-mentioned places lie on Indigenous land.

Speak up for Iran:

Mohsen Shekari

Middle East Matters Action Items

Persian with Purpose Action Items

Resources:

Community Land & Investment Trusts Explained

Rent control groups: @housingjustice4all, @streetwatchla, @latenats, @oaklandtenatsunion

Definitions:

Gentrification - the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses

Digital Nomad - people who travel while working remotely using technology and the internet

We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]