First ever Black Appalachian Young & Rising Gathering in Harlan County Kentucky!

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

Report Back from Black Appalachian Young & Rising! Black Youth Advisory Committee: A'Nya Badger, Nina Morgan, Sydney Underwood, Geonoah Davis, Trey Lomax, & Mekyah Davis In early November, Black youth from throughout the Appalachian region came together for the region’s first gathering specifically for black youth. The historic 2019 Black Appalachian Young and Rising Gathering brought youth together to examine the Black Appalachian identity, and build meaningful connections. Most importantly though, we began a strategic process of implementing a call to action to STAY and other organizations in the region to address the critical lack of black youth leadership. It was a beautiful, powerful weekend with lots of laughter, learning, growth, and genuine black joy. We look forward to providing y'all with a full report back  from the gathering in the coming weeks with recommendations for how STAY and other organizations can continue to uplift and support Black youth leadership in our organization and throughout Appalachia.   We opened up with a powerful session on Friday by grounding ourselves in some of the rich history of black folks in the Appalachian region. We were honored with invaluable contributions by Charice Starr, our consultant for the gathering, Joe Tolbert, Elandria Williams, Dr. William H. Turner, and Ron Carson. Our guests spoke on issues ranging from the history of black folks in the region as a whole to how the Black Appalachian Young and Rising gathering was in part made possible by folks who started STAY 10 years ago. We opened up Saturday with singing together and our land acknowledgment on the history of the Pine Mountain Settlement School. We spent a long time setting up our learning container and setting the tone for what we were there to do and how we were going to interact with each other throughout the weekend. This session included a reviewed of Principled Struggles and Mocktails, an exercise where black youth were able to practice active listening and talking. This proved to be one of the most valuable parts of the weekend as we were able to watch people begin to come out of their shells and step into their subjective expertise and realize they knew more than they give themselves credit for. We spent the evening leading up to lunch mapping our landscape and resources from communities. Saturday night we had a “BONDFire” where we roasted s’mores and built community over spoken word, rap battles, and general conversation while sitting around the fire. We finished up the weekend Sunday with one morning session that included, identifying the issues, our collective visioning, and action steps we can take to address the lack of black youth leadership in our region. It was an indescribable experience to be able to be surrounded by dozens of fellow black youth from throughout the region in an autonomous space designed for and by us. It was also a wake up call to how powerful and necessary it is to create space for specifically for black youth. Love & solidarity, Mekyah Davis Donate to support Black Futures in Appalachia From Appalachia to Mississippi: The STAY Project goes to the Southern Movement Assembly Dear STAY Project Family, We are reporting back from Southern Movement Assembly 8 to say that the Southern People's Freedom Movement is alive and thriving and Appalachia is here for it!  Last week, 11 young people from Appalachia traveled as a STAY Project delegation to Hazlehurst, Mississippi in order to participate in a collective governing process that laid out a Southern People's Action plan for how we are going to protect and defend our people, build new social economies, and create people's democracy in 2020. From our pipeline resisters in the Shenandoah valley to our Southern Appalachia crew with the Magic City Youth Initiative– Appalachia showed up in force at the Southern Movement Assembly to build and deepen our relationships with people across the Global South–– including Puerto Rico, Congo, & Senegal.  We are so ready for what STAY can bring to Appalachia and the South in 2020!  First though, we are going to rest up and heal from the virus we all shared after traveling for 20 hours in a van together, but then we are gonna get to getting free! solidarity & kinship, The STAY Project staff & steering committee "Nobody's free 'til everybody's free" - Fannie Lou Hamer Upcoming STAY Project Events & Calls to Action! We are now accepting submissions for an Appalacian Love Story Zine from young people aged 30 & under who are living in Appalachia! Theme for the Zine is: Love (not just the romantic kind), home, community, resistance, liberation, and being young in the mountains. We are accepting: poetry, short stories, propaganda, photography, collages, drawings, paintings, etc... Submissions are due on Jan 3rd. Please send to stayproject@gmail.com with the subject line "zine submission"  Announcing Appalachian Love Fest: a music festival, artist and organizational showcase, and Appalachian Love Week event celebrating everything we love about Appalachia! Share the love, bring a date, find love, and save the date for February 15, 2020! Got a favorite local musician, artist friend, or rad organization you'd like to see at the fest? Let us know by filling out this short form!  Regional Happenings Southern Connected Communities Project has opened a Cyber Cafe in the Clearfork Valley! Need to print something? Have research to do?  Want to scroll the internet? Need to submit an application? Have a paper to write? Come see us at Clearfork Community Institute (the old Eagan School) Free services available; Scan, copy, print, and laptops Staff available for basic computer assistance  Coffee, lattes, cappuccino and snacks will be sold Beginning August 6, 2019 hours will be Tuesdays and Thursdays  9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Call 423-784-0095 for more information Get Involved with The STAY Project! Join our Appalachian Youth Movement! Wanna join the STAY Project? We’ve added a membership form to our website! If you are between the ages of 14-30 and living in Appalachia and want to be a member of the STAY Project, head on over to our membership page and fill out the form. If you are a current member go ahead and fill out the form to update your information. Be a part of a movement for youth and by youth that is working towards a just, sustainable, and equitable Appalachia! Did y'all hear that STAY is now offering financial support to members who are organizing projects/events in their communities? We are able to offer up to $200 to support members’ projects that align with our mission and core beliefs. Specifically, we are hoping to support projects/events that further STAY’s work of providing space for young Appalachians to gather, learn with/from, create, and work together. To learn more and to request support, fill out this form! When you give to the STAY Project you are nourishing a grassroots movement by youth and for youth in Appalachia. We could not do our work without the support of a community that believes in us. Thank you for believing in us! Donate to the STAY Project! Share Tweet Forward Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*