When a group of young people who had recently graduated from the East Hampton High School and the Ross School returned home from college and travel in the early part of the summer, having heard about bias related tensions and violence teens faced during the school year, they decided they wanted to create something to share with the generation coming up. Meeting every week, in between jobs and internships, the group decided their name needed to mean something in both Spanish and English, coming up with So(u)l, becoming Youth So(u)l.
They developed a statement of purpose and are planning a spirited performance and arts festival to build harmony among young people from different sectors of the East End, on Saturday August 19th, from 3 - 7 p.m. on the field next to Carvel in Bridgehampton, across from the Bridgehampton Commons.
"OF THE YOUTH, BY THE YOUTH, FOR THE YOUTH"is the group's credo. Their invitation for the festival states:
"We are planning a day in which we strike a chord that emphasizes the extensive range of possibility within youth collaboration and _expression. Through music, poetry, photography, painting and other forms of art and activity, this youth-led event will showcase the powerful capabilities of the youth community on the east end of Long Island."
One young poet and educator will travel from Jackson, Mississippi to join the East End youth. Herb Brown, a staff member of the Young People's Project, engaged in math literacy, will take a bus north, bringing his newly published book of poems with him.
The youth leaders of YouthSo(u)l are Chris Messinger, Ted Delano, Sam Brzozowski, Ella Engel-Snow, Rachel Blatt, Sequoyah Hunter-Cuyjet, Paola Agudelo, Carolina Agudelo, Layna Ware. Organizational and individual sponsors include OLA, Crossroads Music, NAACP Eastern Long Island Branch, Voz Latina, The Committee of Concerned Parents & Community Members, Audrey Gaines, Isabel Sepulveda, Sharon Ann Bacon, John Turnbull, Jonathan Snow, Bonnie M. Cannon and Kathy Engel. The group has gathered donations for a raffle from local businesses ranging from dinners to clothing to personal training. Their intention is to "pass the baton" to their younger siblings and community members still in high school.
According to Layna Ware, who also works with the NAACP Youth Committee: "Coming together for this celebration as one will show our dedication. We as one want to be constructive not destructive!"
For more information, contact: ( youthsoul06@yahoo.com ), Ted Delano:631-512-2808 and Chris Messinger:917-881-3355
