YOUTH VOICES
Youth-Led Activism... ...continued from page 13
According to numerous interviews with our students and qualified reports, many students struggle to find wellbeing in the school envi - ronment due to the many different pressures they face, whether it’s legacy trauma, generational health concerns, hunger, ongoing preju- dice and racism, or untreated mental illness. In her July 2022 piece “Mental Health in Schools: The Kids Are Not All Right”, Mary Ellen Flannery, a Senior Writer at NEA Today, reported, “Today, 17 million U.S. children struggle with hunger — about 6 million more than before the pandemic. On top of that, recent years have reinforced how much this nation still struggles with racism and anti-LGBTQ+ hatred…. In the past year, even as the nation has returned to ‘normal’ life, the latest research shows that many students are still living in a state of mental health crisis.” They need inclusive, safe spaces where these challenges are acknowledged and respected. They need teachers and systems that have the empathy and resources to honor each student and the specif- ic adversities they face. The History of Action Youth Media A group of students made the first films together in a church fel - lowship hall in 2005 with the help of local volunteers such as Richard Jaeggi. The organization was incorporated as a nonprofit in 2008 un - der Mr. Jaeggi’s direction, with the name Gandhi Brigade, Inc. Hawa Toure, Juanita Bailey, and early teachers such as Ellen Daniels and Heather Bradley continued to expand the after-school and weekend activities through 2014 when Mr. Jaeggi died very suddenly of a brain tumor. Across Montgomery County, MD and beyond, neighbors, stu - dents, alumni, activists, teachers, parents, legislators, and filmmakers rallied together to save the organization that was eventually renamed Action Youth Media. Students’ documentary films such as Juvenile Justice and We Are Now have won numerous festival screenings and awards across the country. Films have featured community members, local artists, the students themselves, and pioneers and veterans such as Brigadier General Charles McGee and Congressman John Lewis. Evan Glass was the second executive director and Anna MacLachlan joined in 2018 as the third director when the organization was building its first permanent studio space. Over the last four 4 years, the staff and Board have become actively anti-racist and continue to build equity and inclusion. Action Youth Media students, parents, and teachers are now building a community at 900 Wayne Ave in downtown Silver Spring thanks to a twenty-year continued on page 74
Action Youth Media: Support- ing Community & Activism Through Filmmaking BY ANNA MACLACHLAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Action Youth Media, based in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, envisions a world where young people shape communities of respect and diversity. Our contribution to this vision is to provide inclusive spaces where young people find their unique voices, gain self-confi - dence, and learn the media skills they need to be thriving community members. Action Youth Media promotes filmmaking to middle and high school students, as a life-giving creative activity and a path to rewarding and sustainable careers. Students make web videos and short films primarily focused on nonfiction cultural, community, and social justice topics, to advance youth voices and their needs. Action Youth Media embraces narrative and documentary film, but always with a focus on a story or cause that matters to youth or affects their wellbeing. Local parents need more free after-school programs, and students need a place to go where they are accepted and heard unconditionally. Action Youth Media’s priority is for every class or event to be an inclu - sive, creative, and especially safe space where teens can thrive. More than 225 students join our programs each year, in our studio and in schools and Recreation Centers in the area. “At a time when arts education is losing the battle for classroom time in schools, afterschool programs can offer much-needed sup - port and provide students with an additional outlet to participate in the arts.” — AfterSchool Alliance, September 2012, Issue Brief No. 56 “...what speaks to us in our current cultural moment is the power of institutional listening. When teens are immersed in non-school, arts-based programming, they feel they are listened to. The value of being heard is unquantifiable — and perhaps immeasurable.” — Isabel Beavers, Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, Measured Impacts: Teen Arts Programs are Invaluable , Apr 6, 2018
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PATHWAYS—Fall 23—73
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