We 'Ced Youth Media | Central Valley youth learn activism through art and community workshops at 209 Rising

Central Valley youth learn activism through art and community workshops at 209 Rising

August 1, 2018 / jenramos

99Rootz and Central Valley Freedom Summer presented 209 Rising in Atwater, Calif. on Jul. 21. 209 Rising was a youth conference and mural unveiling, with workshops for many youth participants under the age of 25 from the California Central Valley to attend. The workshops ranged from mental health to LGBTQIA issues to the school to prison pipeline, ending the day with ARTivisim. Participants were also encouraged to paint tiles for the mural that will be set up at a later date.

: Mai Lee, a 99Rootz intern, addresses participants of 209 Rising at the beginning of the conference.

: A sign hung on the walls of the Veterans of Foreign Wars center in Atwater, Calif, where the one day conference was held.

: Eugene, one of the MCs of the event, addresses the participants.

: Sofia Figueroa of UC Merced’s Lambda Alliance leads the LGBTQIA workshop as one of the first workshops of the day.

: Crystal addresses the four major components that cause the school to prison pipeline.

: Gary Singh and Mai Lee detail the timeline of denied voting rights in the United States during a workshop on youth voting.

: Participants listen to the MCs after the first three workshop sessions of the day are done.

: As part of ARTivism, participants were encouraged to paint, do spray paint art, or color. Here, participants are spray painting using cardboard stencils with phrases such as “#209RISING” and “¡YOUTH.”