We’re closed for the Holiday season, but we’re still open for donations! Head over to vocaljustice.org/donate to set up your gift to Vocal Justice.

This year, we’ll be visiting VJ classrooms across the country and sharing the brilliant work of young people who are engaged in our program. Enjoy these stills from our first stop in Chicago. This was a special visit because the young people facilitated the whole class!

Sometimes, the question 'Where are you from?' leads to a story about people rather than a place. Take a moment to experience this beautifully crafted poem—it speaks volumes about family, identity, tradition, and lineage.

It’s Black History Month. Share this post on your story in case anybody forgot…👀🫣 #BHM2025 #BlackHistoryMonth

Public Speaking as a Super Power? Tell us more, MyKael! We’re never powerless, even if we don’t hold positions in government. We have power to influence others and stand in solidarity with our community.

It’s important that our community members stay connected to what our program means in practice, in classrooms, on the ground, to educators and to young people. Here’s a teacher testimony from one of our Teacher Fellows.

This is everything. THIS is why we do it.

We were honored to welcome José Olivarez as a guest speaker at our February Teacher Fellowship session. He shared the source of his inspiration to write about culture, community, and heritage. We love how he honored the complexity of story and relationship to immigration.

We were thrilled to welcome Eva Maria Lewis as a guest speaker at our February Youth Power Collective Cross Country Community Session. Eva’s session was divinely timed; she gave young people the space to dream together as they consider their response to issues in their community.

Progress is still present and possible—not by inertia but by intentional choices people make to invest, financially and otherwise, in liberation. Link to donate: vocaljustice.org/donate

Our team is working hard to continue doing the work that our youth need, but we are struggling amidst a rapidly changing funding landscape. Help us to be able to continue to give students access to our liberatory programs and more. Donate at vocaljustice.org/donate

We partnered with Stanford students to improve our capacity for data analysis. They built an AI tool called ‘Vocal Lens’ that will help us analyze all of the data we collect from Teachers and Youth Participants! Special shout out and thank you to the team!

We have to thank you all for all of the ways you've supported us over the last month. Some of you have sent us resources, shared our mission with friends, or have given directly. Because of you, we're almost halfway to our goal and it'll be because of you that we reach it.

In response to statistics on the literacy rates in their neighborhood, our Youth Power Collective at Palomar High School in California hosted a literacy night to promote reading in their community They gave out over 200 books and talked to at least 24 people about literacy!

Our Teacher Fellows have turned their classrooms into sites of liberation & community, & young people have reflected, spoken out, & grown. We will be celebrating their collective work on May 31st. RSVP here: tinyurl.com/VJFinale25

A Vocal Justice celebration is a one-of-a-kind thing. If you haven’t been to one of our events yet, now is the time. If you have, welcome back and see you there! RSVP to attend here: tinyurl.com/VJFinale25 #YouthPower #YouthVoice #Educators #SocialChange #VocalJustice

Our Program Finale starts in a few hours! Tune in at 12PM PT/2PM CT/3PM ET on Zoom to witness the powerful voices of our students who have spent the year speaking truth, building community, and growing as leaders. RSVP to join this celebration!: tinyurl.com/VJFinale25

We partnered with YEBO for a magical night of storytelling in Oakland! Sending love and gratitude to our featured storytellers: Alexis, Isaura, Michael, Nayeli, and Shawon who all shared stories about fear and resilience.

We’ve raised over half of what we need to continue operations! We’re have a deep gratitude for our powerhouse community for showing up and pushing through. It’s never too late to start supporting. Help us reach our goal by the end of the month. vocaljustice.org/donate

Summer’s winding down but it’s not too late to get your reading in before heading back to school. Check out these recommendations from Janiala, a member of our YAC! What’s on your list to read before summer is over?