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 August 2009
Our Mission:
Cultural Leadership exists to create a more just and equitable
community by educating high school students to recognize and resolve
issues of privilege and injustice through the lens of the African
American and Jewish experience. Our students develop leadership skills, build relationships, facilitate dialogues and create change in their circles of influence.
Our Mantra: When
our students see a problem, they grab an ally, or two, roll up their
sleeves, and get to work to make our world a better place. |
We're Back!
Class 5 students have safely returned from their journey. We left St. Louis with 30 teens eager to learn how to change their communities. We came back with a 30-member family of inspired activists. Since we cannot bring every one of you with us on this incredible journey, we will share the images and thoughts that best express the experience. You can also read a full recap of our trip on our daily blog.
"You just don't realize that you are truly transforming
until some speaker hits you and you realize that your outlook has
changed."
- Class 5 student
Class 5 students with Jewish feminist, author and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin.
Pogrebin is the founder of Ms Magazine and the author of nine books.
"Anything is possible, honestly. I mean, I've heard stories of change
involving everything. If you are
passionate, dedicated and willing to make the sacrifice, anything is possible."
-Class 5 student
(right) Hannah Rosenthal speaking with Geoffrey Canada (founder and president of the Harlem Children's Zone) while Karen Kalish and Matthew Kincaid (Class 2 alum and trip leader) listen in. The Harlem Children's Zone has transformed the Harlem community by doing "Whatever it Takes" to break the cycle of generational poverty through education.
All Photographs below by Stewart Halperin.
"When we visited the America I AM exhibit in Atlanta,
for the first time since Barack Obama was elected President, I was extremely
proud to be an African American. The
exhibit showed me how rich my heritage is and how far we've come. The history
of African American culture is filled with so many great people." - Class 5 student
America I AM: The African American Imprint exhibit features
500 years of artifacts in African American history presented by Tavis Smiley.
 
"A very special
thanks for expanding my son's mind and perspective. You
said it was going to be a transformational journey and it definitely
was
for him. It
was amazing listening to his perspective evolve on this trip. I always
knew he was capable of great things, now I am more confident
he will achieve them."
- Class 5 parent
(above left) In the small town of Whitwell, TN (pop 1,600), the local middle school collected paperclips to represent the victims of the Nazi Holocaust. The Paperclips Project collected over 30 million paper clips. To house the paperclips, stories, and photographs, they brought a railcar to Whitwell from Poland that carried victims into the Auchwitz death camp. (left) Inside this railcar is their memorial containing 11 million of these paperclips and many of the stories.
Slavery and Civil War Museum in Selma, AL.
"The slavery simulation really opened my eyes to
slavery. You can read about something in
a book and never fully understand it until you experience it yourself. So the simulation scared me, moved me and
showed me a perspective I never saw before." - Class 5 student
"On this trip, I have made bonds that go beyond
friendship. My peers in CL inspire me,
respect me, and challenge me to look at the past and the present in a way that
I never have before." - Class 5 student
Group hug in Kelly Ingram Park (Birmingham, AL).
Class 5 in front of the Civil Rights Memorial (created by Maya Lin) at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, AL.
"Sometimes the walk for change is a lonely walk.
But if you really believe in your cause,
then
the walk will be worth more than you ever imagined."
- Class 5 student
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Op-Ed written by Rev. Katherine Hawker (mother of Winnie Hawker-Boehnke, Class 5) and published in the St. Louis Post Dispatch on June 16, 2009
The Hands We Hold
Although Kevin Johnson, Charles "Cookie" Thornton and James von Brunn
apparently have little in common, all three are native sons of St.
Louis. All three may be remembered for racially charged, murderous
rampages.
While von Brunn is hospitalized in critical condition, the details of
his story are beginning to emerge. Being smart enough to graduate from
Washington University does not translate into good mental health or
racial tolerance.
We are tempted to buy the reassuring headlines that von Brunn acted
alone in his alleged crime, as did Thornton in Kirkwood, as did Johnson
in Kirkwood. But none of us acts in a vacuum, and it is the context
that breeds violence that we must face if we are to quell the tide.
Perhaps I am particularly sensitive to von Brunn's alleged rampage at
the Holocaust Museum because my 17-year-old daughter was in route to
the scene of the tragedy last week. She traveled with a fascinating
group of young people in a program called Cultural Leadership. Founded
with the vision and passion of Karen Kalish, the St. Louis program aims
to immerse teens into the history and possibility of cultural
transformation for tolerance and justice.
The year-long immersion program invites 30 area teens, about half of
them black and about half of them Jewish, to learn about each other's
history and perspectives in order to build bridges for active
involvement in social change. My daughter is one of three white
Christians included in an otherwise black/Jewish dialogue, and she is
experiencing the new role of minority.
Having spent the winter and spring building relationships and learning
history, the group now is on a whirlwind tour, which began with a
flight from St. Louis' Lambert Field to New York's LaGuardia Airport
(with scheduled tours of Harlem, Crown Heights and Ellis Island).
They went to Washington, D.C., before heading to Atlanta, Little Rock,
Ark., and Memphis, Tenn. After 24 days and six dozen speakers (not
counting museums), the exhausted teens will return home in time to
celebrate "Independence Day" in St. Louis.
Last week, with the blood stains still fresh, my first-born daughter
walked across the threshold of the Holocaust Museum. A white Christian,
she'll be walking hand-in-hand with black Christians and white Jews.
This is a different kind of St. Louis experience, one rooted in the
belief that we can be allies if we take the time to listen and learn.
The hands that we choose to hold form the context for our choices. Too
often the hands that we hold look and sound and feel familiar in a
world that feels unfamiliar. As we grip the familiar in search of
strength to face that which isn't, the seeds of foment are watered.
As we surrender James von Brunn to the medical and law-enforcement
authorities, I find hope in my daughter's journey and visions like that
of Cultural Leadership. Although the futures of these 30 youth are
still wide open, the relationships forged will disable the instinct for
racial stereotyping that is all too common in St. Louis.
For today, I will hold onto this vision of transformation.
The Rev. Katherine Hawker is pastor at Evangelical United Church of Christ in Webster Groves. |
Ripples...Our Students Living the Mission of Cultural LeadershipJeremy Cropf (Class 2)
was an assistant editor on a documentary about survivors of the
Holocaust and the Rwandan and Darfur genocides entitled, "The Last
Survivor." He is also working with a Congolese refugee to just start
his "Imuhira-Our Home" Initiative in St. Louis and around the U.S.
Nick Deslodge (Class 2) will be spending the fall semester of his junior year in Washington, D.C. where he will work for Ashoka: Innovators for the Public as a marketing intern for Changemakers--a social networking site for social entrepreneurs. Nick was first introduced to Ashoka during the Cultural Leadership Transformational Journey.
Matthew Kincaid (Class 2) is spending the second part of his summer (the first part he spent with us as a trip leader on the transformational journey) interning with Gateway Homeless Services.
They provide a 24-hour emergency shelter, meals, programs for youth and
programs to empower adults to move into transitional, and eventually,
permanent housing.
Mimi Brown (Class 4) is part of youth branch of the group working to find justice for Reggie Clemons,
a young black man who was convicted and sentenced to death. Many believe his case represents the gross prejudice and injustice ingrained in our criminal and judicial systems. Mimi has worked to keep the public informed and get more people on board
through Facebook, petitions and events. Reggie Clemons' death sentence was to be carried out on
June 17th, but he received a stay. Jillian Lynum (Class 4)
is working with her supervisor at International Food Products to
advocate for safer and fairer conditions for the workers in the
warehouse.Emily Menendez (Class 4) is interning with Judevine Center for Autism this summer.Nate Seeskin (Class 4), DeAnna Tipton (Class 4) and Ashaki Hall (Class 5) are organizing fundraisers for STAND (anti-genocide group) to aid in the Darfur genocide.
Nina Oberman (Class 5) organized a phone-a-thon for Organizing for Change, a group working for universal healthcare.
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Cultural Leadership in the Community
Cultural Leadership students are continually reaching out into their communities to spread the knowledge and values they have gained through Cultural Leadership. See below for past and upcoming opportunities for our students to get the word out. In creating a more socially just community, we need as many people informed as possible!
On July 13th, the Suburban Journal wrote a piece about Cultural Leadership's Transformational Journey. You can read the full article here.
 (left) On July 23rd, four Cultural Leadership students taught African American History at Sprog Inc., a local non-profit that runs a summer enrichment program for African American children. Sadly, African American history is left out of many traditional curriculum plans. Witnessing African American teens teaching African American history to their peers was, to say the least, an inspiration.
From left to right: Terrell Gilkey, Loren Cahill, Jordan Williams and Tyjuan Morrow.
On July 29th, Karen Kalish and three Class 5 students, Bobby Ingram (Parkway Central), ReNeaSha Ford (Soldan International Studies High School) and Stephanie Holzbauer (Villa Duchesne), were featured on KWMU 90.7. They were invited by Don Marsh, host of St. Louis on the Air, to speak about their experience with Cultural Leadership and the lessons they've learned along the way. You can listen to the full radio show here.
On August 11th, Cultural Leadership will have a "window" appearance on Show Me St. Louis on Channel 5 at 3pm.
On August 12th, Cultural Leadership students will speak at Monsanto. This is the second time our students have been asked to speak at Monsanto, first to their Diversity Committee and because they were so inspired, this time, to their entire staff.
On August 17th, Cultural Leadership students will be speaking about their experience to the members of a
St. Louis Interfaith Partnership/Faith Beyond Walls dialogue group.
Got a group you want us to speak to? Call us at 314-725-3222 or e-mail us to schedule our students.
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Our Thanks Go To...
Joy Sterneck, Cindy Neu, Robin Ehrlich, Margy Weisman, and Courtney Williams for helping proofread fundraising letters and speeches. And to UMSL for allowing us to use their computer lab for these two days.
Professor Terry Jones for an informative lecture on racism and the state of educational and residential inequities in St. Louis.
John Rathje and CRAVE Coffe House for inviting us to use their space for our program in July.
Stewart Halperin for amazing photography on the trip. Many of the pictures in our publications and on our website were photographed by him.
Tyjuan Morrow (Class 3) and Allister Byrd (Class 4) for volunteering in the Cultural Leadership office.
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Please be in touch with any questions, comments or updates at 314-725-3222, programdirector@culturalleadership.com or by visiting www.culturalleadership.org.
Take Care,
Karen Kalish & Jenny Harris
Founder and Executive Director Program Director
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