It’s safe to say that there was definitely no shortage of meaningful experiences at this year’s Young Feminist Collaborative, held at Hampshire College. Throughout the two-week experience, high school students from around the country were able to explore their own passions and visions for change, meet with over 20 professionals doing feminist work, and think critically about how we can all move forward while learning from the histories of our communities. There were too many highlights to count, including:
Thinking critically about how to do anti-oppression with visits from Carla Louis, Erin Seibert, and Zora Berman, who taught us about finding balance and expecting change, the value of empathetic listening in organizing, and the difficult realities of the non-profit industrial complex, respectively.
Hearing about experiences working with people who are pushed to the margins, with visits from the co-directors of the former Prison Birth Project, Marianne Bullock and Marisa Pizii, as well as Pati Hernandez and Charlotte R., who took part in the creation of the film “It’s Criminal”. The film explored how privilege and oppression affect those who are behind bars.
Speaking with the News & Politics Editor of Teen Vogue, Alli Maloney, and reviewing the current journalistic landscape, what it’s like living and working in NYC, and how the magazine is supporting young voices in the movement. She even gave us the invitation to pitch articles!
Exploring how art, like performance pieces and even coloring books, can be used for activism through our workshops with Irené I-SHEA Shakily and Jacinta Bunnell.
Visiting the Sofia Smith Archives and literally putting our hands on pieces of feminist history.
Volunteering with Books Through Bars, an amazing organization that sends books to people who are incarcerated.
This recap was generously composed by Taylr Ucker, one of our staff members at YFC!
Do you know a rising high school junior or senior who would benefit from a summer program focused on feminism(s) and feminist issues? We'd love to have them at next year's Young Feminist Collaborative!