Shero Brunch

The Brownsville Community Justice Center hosted it's first, I Am Phenomenal, Shero Brunch on May 9th, 2015. This brunch was held in honor of the young ladies of the Brownsville Sisters Keepers, as they completed their first cycle of girls programming, as well as Justice Center's lady participants and all the phenomenal  women of the Brownsville, Brooklyn community.

I Am Phenomenal, was the theme of the brunch. The hope was that every young lady of the Justice Center would understand how amazing and phenomenal they truly are. Being surrounded by so much greatness (Judges, Assembly Women, Leaders, Activist, Mothers and Sisters), they would have an expanded vision of who they can become. We enjoyed beautiful words of encouragement, great food & moctails, flower halo making, expressions of why we are phenomenal and of course SELFIES :) Enjoy this small piece of footage from this phenomenal day!

With Love,

Brownsville Sisters Keepers

Brownsville Justice Community Program's Young Adult Entrepreneurship Program

Brownsville's Young Adult Entrepreneurship Program has made some amazing strides and were recently published on Jay Corcoran's blog (Jay is Associate Director of the Career Management Library and New Media Center at Columbia University).

Not only were they published, but Columbia University produced a short film on their experience.

CMC Lion's Lab and Brownsville Pitch Event from Jay Corcoran on Vimeo.

Many of these participants have benefited from supports across our programs and departments, and their bravery to try this "business stuff" out is a testament to what a great support system can provide our young people.  All of the participants in this film have gone on to do amazing things (from internships, fund raising, full time employment, college acceptance, continued education, and more).

They are dope and Brownsville is proud of them.  Check out Jay's blog post here.


Brownsville Entrepreneurs Practice Their Startup Pitch from Jay Corcoran on Vimeo.

Brownsville Leadership Project x John Jay College: Hand In Hand

The Brownsville Leadership Project was selected by the Community Outreach department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, to take part in an event where current issues would be addressed through conversation between Police and Brownsville Youth. 


On April 30th, 2015 an event called Hand in Hand launched its first of many to come. The event kicked off right above John Jay's 'Jane Walk' view, with 3-4 youth, 2 officers, and a facilitator at each table. Conversations covered racial issues, economic issues, and the myths that both police and youth share about one another. Brownsville Leadership Project youth, took the first steps to becoming change agents for their community. This round-table mixer event helped to open the minds of  youth who participated, by providing them with a different perspective on what officers go through on a day to day. Police officers also learned more about the deep rooted challenges and issues young people face in small urban communities such as Brownsville.

Brownsville Leadership Project Members were presented with a plaque for their participation and work in the community. 

The Brownsville Leadership project collectively developed questions a month prior to the event. Those questions were distributed to each table, where 8-10 minute conversations were held before a bell rang, and officers were instructed to switch tables. The two hour event ended in food, awards presented to the youth for their participation, and free giveaways. The efforts of both the Youth and Police Officers fostered an extremely successful event. Both sides walked away knowing that although this may not change the world, it is a great start to changing the communities they live and work in.

Round table exercise. Leader Kimora Brown (left) voices her opinion to Police Officer. 

A full room of Police Officers and Youth ready to discuss issues, and create solutions! 

Brownsville Leaders pose with the Police Officers, and are excited about the new relationships and understanding built! 

Brownsville Leadership Project Beautifies Van Dyke!

On Saturday, April 25^th, The Brownsville Leadership Project along with staff from the Brownville Community Justice Center joined the Van Dyke NextGeneration NYCHA project and the Van Dyke Medgar Evers Cornerstone in a day of beautification around the Van Dyke development. Our leaders worked hard to recycle, pick up trash, and beautify the area. Additionally, our leaders ran arts, crafts, and games for children, and helped serve lunch to the other volunteers. It was great to see all our leaders out in the community creating positive change!  

Leaders from the Brownsville Leadership Project prepare to start their day.

 

   Leaders work hard to clean up Van Dyke.

 Leaders show off some of the work they had been able to accomplish during beautification day.

A group of leaders discuss the strategy plan for the clean-up.

 

 One of our Leaders shows off his artistic skills while doing sidewalk chalk with children at the Van Dyke Community Center