YLI is my story

Housing, Immigration, and Substance Abuse Exhibit to Raise Awareness in Half Moon Bay

Phoenix Reyes  | 
yli is My Story

In the process of building with my YLI group, I started to realize how important it is for the community to know about the issues – to be aware of what is going on around them. They need to know what exactly city council is deciding for us, the overall community.  In order to raise awareness, we’re planning the Housing, Immigration, and Substance Abuse (H.I.S.) Freedom Gallery Exhibit to take place on June 7th at Pilarcitos High School.

A Flower in the Valley: The Story of My Name Series

María Schindler  | 
yli is My Story

My mother named me Alhelí. On google images, an Alhelí ranges from a small four-petaled flower, similar to Hawaii’s plumeria, to a bunch of small flowers growing up a stem, similar to lavender but fuller. I don’t think I have ever seen one in real life and because of that, I find myself stopping at almost every flower I see, wondering, “Could you be an Alhelí?”

Tina La Boo: The Story of My Name Series

María Schindler  | 
yli is My Story

Fun Facts: I was supposed to be a boy and throughout my mom’s pregnancy with me my mom called me Ricky. I have 10 nicknames and I answer to them all (Trina, Trinabell, Tinabell, Tina, Boo Boo Face, Tina La Boo, Tinker, Tinkerbell, Trin, and Catrin). These come from aunts, uncles and older cousins. Each nickname for me is special, but I use Trina most often and am known to many friends and introduced myself to my partner as Trina.

A Call to Justice for our Community

Shayna Gee  | 
yli is My Story

Tobacco products are adapting to our social environments and we need to put a stop to this. We need you to support our campaign as we strive to set a city-wide tobacco retail minimum price and ban the use of coupons, BOGO deals, and any other promotional strategies to purchase tobacco in San Francisco — our city. This isn’t just a health issue, it’s also a social justice issue.

It Still Takes a Village: A Reflection on We’Ced’s 7th Publication Release

Joshua Semerjian  | 
Campaign Victories

On Friday, February 22, We’Ced Youth Media celebrated its seventh print publication in downtown Merced. Among those present was Joshua Semerjian, a PhD student from UC Merced who has been collaborating with We’Ced for the past year. Joshua and We’Ced have been building a strong mutually rewarding partnership to support the youth reporters in their personal and professional growth, and on the night of the publication party, Joshua had this to share

Pieces Of Me

By Ayanna Wilson  | 
yli is My Story

I had no idea that being born to a Mexican Mother and a Black father would make my experience in the valley one that would teach me a lot about myself, and how I would see the world. But it did. I remember being enrolled in elementary school, and how accepting and welcoming the other students were of my differences. They never made me feel weird or bad, they just simply accepted me for me. It wasn’t until middle school that I was met with issues about my race.

Reflecting On Black History Month Illustrations

José Rubén Diaz Junior  | 
yli is My Story

As you probably know, February is Black History Month, a month where famous and influential black members of society are recognized and celebrated. Back in January, Kody, our Program Manager with The kNOw, asked me if I would be interested in doing illustrations that celebrate famous and less well-known leaders in the African American community for Black History Month. I gladly accepted, and I’m glad I did.