NEIGHBORHOOD YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM

What's wrong with me being black?

2009-09-03T14:21:00.002-04:00

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

2009-09-03T14:20:00.002-04:00

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

Interviews with the crew

2009-08-18T15:36:00.001-04:00

Day of Service

2009-08-18T10:30:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-17T16:13:00.002-04:00

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

2009-08-03T11:40:00.009-04:00

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

2009-07-27T16:07:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-24T15:10:00.003-04:00

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.

2009-07-16T12:42:00.006-04:00

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.

Cleaning Up

2008-08-25T17:25:00.000-04:00

Starting a Flower Garden

2008-08-19T14:41:00.003-04:00

The corner of Orleans and Chester Streets

Etiquette Dinner

2008-08-18T16:25:00.004-04:00

On Friday August 15, 2008 we at Banner Neighborhoods Youth Program attended an Etiquette dinner at a restaurant titled Three. This restaurant is located on the corner of Linwood and Baltimore street. When we first walked in we all thought that the place looked amazing and was a great choice for us to have a dinner. We had outstanding service from our waitresses, they were on task and on top of everything, such as introducing what was on the menu, explaining what the foods were, always refilling our water cups, and being quite friendly. Most of the crew ordered the same meal which was jalapeno corn chowder and pork ribs with mashed potatoes or french fry shaped potatoes. After dinner the cooks came out and introduced themselves and asked how our meals were. I thought that was very nice of them to come out and introduce themselves the way they did. For desert we all ordered the mousse duo except for Andre who wanted to try sheep milk yogurt. After we finished desert we all sat around and talked for a little more. As a team we talked about our experiences this summer and all the fun times we've had. We all hope to stay in touch with each other as the school year starts and hope to see each other fulfill our goals as life goes on.

Our Etiquette Training

2008-08-09T11:09:00.007-04:00

On Thursday after we worked outside Mrs. Carolyn came in to talk to us about manners. She noticed that some of us were shy. She had the observations to know that we were shy by noticing that everyone did not make eye contact or give a firm decent handshake. She asked us questions about manners and then told us how to be better on our accessibility. This training was very overt and helpful to us all. It showed us how to be more respectful to other people and ourselves. Mrs. Carolyn was a very nice lady, for she took time to come down here to Banner to talk to us about manners and how to be respectful young adults. We highly appreciate what she has done for us by teaching and showing us how to be more respectful and use manners the right way.

The Best Summer Job Ever

2008-08-09T10:23:00.006-04:00

On August 6, 2008 the crew and I worked outside when it was hot 92 degrees, however we still got the job done. We did Fairmount around 12 noon and we went on break around 12:45. We all returned back to banner, then we went to CCBC community college of BALTIMORE county we learned about the different programs; Ms. Emily Cherry showed us about parallel enrollment programs and courses that you can take while you are in high school to receive more credits. They have three other locations in Essex, Catonsville, and Dundulk. Each college has great enrollment plans and they even have computer-automated manufacturing, but in all we had a nice time there.

Summer Action

2008-07-31T14:30:00.004-04:00

This year at Banner Neighborhoods Community Corporation, the Neighborhood Youth Program has expanded its range. Other than just working all day long in the blazing sun, we have taken a few adventures. We have attended Harpers Ferry, West Virginia for a camping trip, a HIP Conference at the Crown Plaza, and The Sun Trust Bank. From these trips we have learned a little more than we already knew. But when we are working outside we work from 8 am until 12 noon. We have six hardworking and dedicated employees this summer. The names of these workers are Andre Trotman, Shyel Coats, Michael Riddick, Sha-que-tta Tolliver, Jacob Young, and then there's me, Bucky Reynolds. We are supervised by an amazing boss known as Coach Carter. He is great for the job because he knows how to interact and work with teenagers, or as he calls us, "Young Adults". When we are out in our communities working, our jobs, or better yet tasks, are to get up the weeds from the cracks in the streets and/or trees, mulch tree pits, sweep up the weeds that we pull up, and sometimes pick up the trash that we see. Sometimes on Saturdays we work in Patterson Park with The Friends of Patterson Park, but not every Saturday. When we come in from lunch every day we write down six words so we can build our vocabulary hoping to grasp these words for future references. Banner Neighborhoods Community Corporation's Executive Director is Ms. Jolyn. Without her here at Banner we would not have a job - no, an opportunity to exploit our character - here at Banner this summer. She doesn't just want us to work all day, but she hopes that we can grow and become better people. This summer at Banner Neighborhoods Community Corporation has been a great experience for all of us. We just hope that people will continue to keep their neighborhoods and communities clean and in great shape.

The AvP \ HIP project

2008-07-31T13:41:00.004-04:00

The AVP\HIP training was fun because it showed us how to deal with certain situations and one of the situations we had to deal with was how to deal with the police. If you were stopped or in your car what would you say and what not to say and if the police came to your house or if you just walk to the store. But it was cool because they showed you in a form of a play about your rights. We also met different people from different parts of the United States.Places like Paris, Syracuse, New York, Florida, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and also Baltimore. We had so much fun there at the conference. At the AVP\HIP training we also played a game called the Big Wind Blows which is just a game that makes you feel like you have nothing to hide about being locked up or any thing to do with the police. It's a good game to know about the people around you. We also played a game called Birthday Lineup which is a game to see how much you have in common with somebody before you judged them. When we did that we found out that people had more in common than we thought. But I had a lot of fun and I will love to go back some day. I learned a lot and the people were so fun to be around. AVP\HIP was fun and good times.

Our Trip To West Virginia

2008-07-26T10:48:00.003-04:00

My experience in Harpers Ferry,West Virginia was great. We stayed in a Retreat House which is known as a hostel. We learned how to work better with each other as a team and also enjoyed white water rafting with Allison and Moose. That was the first time we all have tried that and it was a great experience for us as a team to work together. During the rafting we all worked together in paddling so we could get through the rapid water. The trip to West Virginia was a great experience for me and the rest of the team.

THE 2008 NYEP CREW

2008-07-08T11:13:00.004-04:00