What's wrong with me being black?

A poem by Yazmin Burns

I'm a black human being living my life
A black human being that's not afraid of a knife
People judge me here and there
As a matter of fact they judge me everywhere
I like what I do
I love who I am
In my heart I love my people deep within
Bad words come near me side by side
The hurtful ones really make me cry
I live alone and no one seems to care
But when they're in trouble they expect me to be there
I protect my people and always make sure they're safe
But I never get a thank you because of the color of my face
I wish I can change to another color with delight
So that people can love and respect me for being white
The bad things that are said about black people in songs
Makes me think, why is this racism still going on?
White people go around the world and give kisses and hugs
But when they see black men with cornrows they call them thugs
Most blacks were making money a little bit bigger
But that didn't matter because whites still called us niggers
I thought slavery was over
I thought it had ceased
I thought that blacks may now live in peace
Being black is a beautiful thing
Even though our color is not the same
It's not if you win or lose
It's how you choose to play the game
Black is only a color and just a name
If white people can see me just for me
They're realize what kind of black person I seem to be
Once you go black you don't go back
Now is the time to tell everyone there's nothing wrong with being black
Black is just a color
Black is just a name
No matter what color you are
We're still the same
Time will tell when we are all dead and gone
Whites will realize blacks never did anything wrong
I want one day for whites to say
"Slavery is over. It has ceased.
We shall now let our friendly black people live in peace."
Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud

Tip It

Youth from Safe and Sound's Tip It Campaign explain their goals to the youth employment crew during a visit

Interviews with the crew

Day of Service

In July we were visited by students from the Center for Talented Youth Civic Leadership Institute at Johns Hopkins. The students worked with the members of the Neighborhood Youth Employment Program to clean up Ellwood Park. This is the group photo we took at the end of the day. Both the CTY and NYEP kids gained a lot from the day of service, and we hope that they'll come back and work with us again next year!

- Mr. Eric

My Black to Me

A poem by Shelly Greaves

I like the way my people used to rock afros
I hate it when the only things that come out of my people's mouth is nigger, slut, and whore
I like the way my people dance
Full of tradition, style, and rhythm
I hate that my generation ignores how their ancestors strived, cried, and died for what they believed in
Black is so beautiful
That's what I hear my black ghetto sisters say on TV
But why is it in this world I can't even be me?
I admonish the fact that we put our ancestors to shame, playing all these games!
I wish that instead of nigger, my people would say brother!
I wish that instead of bitch, my people would say sister!
I'm proud to be black because of my history
Boys and girls today think that committing a felony makes them look good
Boys say, "I got street cred in my hood!"
I wish we would give our ancestors the "cred" that they deserve!

The Summer of 2009

The summer of 2008 was exciting and the memories I will cherish forever. The 2009 summer is shaping up to be great if not greater then last year. I interviewed several outstanding young people for the NYEP and had the daunting task of narrowing my search to six young adults. The crew as we call ourselves consist of four young men, two young ladies and myself. They have met or exceeded my expectations and i'm sure they surprised themselves. They have worked extremely hard on the streets of Baltimore cleaning, mulching, and cleaning out tree pits.
Each member of the crew had a chance to learn and exhibit leadership skills. Depending on which block we worked in determined who was going to be the supervisor for the day. Who ever lived in the area designated to be beautified was the supervisor and was in total control. Each person did a fine job at managing breaks, personnel and productivity. They felt a sense of accomplishment and pride. They also expressed how hard it was being in charge and getting their peers to take them seriously.
The crew had an invitation from Mr. Harry Anapa to visit BGE and get a lesson on electricity and how it works, as well as possible employment. It was a success and the crew learned a great deal on the dangers of ignorance as it relates to electricity. A few of the youth expressed interest in working at BGE and stated that they would have never thought about it until their visit (the importance of exposure). We were also invited by Senator Mikulski to be her guest at the United States Capital and have lunch in the Senate Dining room. The crew as well as myself were very excited about the prospect of not only going but the possibilities of meeting important political people. It has been an exciting and rewarding summer thus far and we are looking forward to more exciting opportunities in the future.

- Coach Carter, Crew Supervisor

How I Like Working For Banner Neighborhoods

Banner Neighborhoods is my summer job. I enjoy working here because the work is easy to do and I have run doing it. I enjoy the people that work with me and I love my boss. The strange thing about it is that when it comes down to work it's all about getting it done and working hard to make some good money. I was surprised when I got hired because I applied for all these other jobs that I wanted and I never got a call. But when Coach Carter said I was hired I nearly cried because I was so happy. It's like when someone tries something it always goes well but I'll do the same things and get out of hand. So I'm excited being here with Banner Neighborhoods because it is the only job that ever hired me in my whole life. It also pays good money. I love the people I work with. I have so much fun working here. I love the trips and all the fun things we did, especially HIP training, even though I kept falling asleep. Most of all I will miss this place and my people I work with.

- Yasmine

My New Family

6/24/09 was the first day of work, where I met my new co-workers. That day was fun, sitting around talking and telling things about ourselves. The first day was the scariest because nobody knew each other. But everyone attached to each other on scene.

The title "My New Family" explains the new people I've met. These new people are friends, bosses, co-workers, and more. They taught me things I didn't even know, such as the word "History" is based on the words "His Story."

So I give a thanks to my Banner family and my family.

Robert

The trip when we went to B.G.E.

Yesterday the crew went on a trip to B.G.E. They told us some important stuff, saying that if your car catch on fire and you have a broken wire on top of your car you should not get out and run because if you do that you will die instantly. If that happen to you, you will have to do these steps. 1 Open your car door. 2 Jump out of your car with both of your feet together. 3 Hop away from you car or can take babies steps but mainly you will hop away from your car. If you do these steps correctly you will not die.