Check out our youth doing the Art in Activism Photography Workshop! 

Did you know that music is good for your mental health? 

Research has found that music can help with regulating emotions and managing anxiety. Music too is way to create change and has been a catalyst for change for centuries, to shed light to social issues, challenge injustices, and inspire others to action. 

In honor of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, we asked our team what songs they like that talk about mental health or are good for their mental health.

What song is good for your soul?

The Stonewall Riots, or Stonewall Uprising, in 1969 acted as a catalyst for the modern Gay Rights Movement. Springing people into action to fight back against anti-homosexual discrimination and treatment.  This act of defiance changed our history, leading to the US's first gay pride parade, increased activism and organizing, and awareness to the rights and needs of LGBTQ+ communities.  What is often left out, however, is that many of the Stonewall Rioters were Latine and Black. 

Check out this Crash Course on Marsha P. Johnson and the Stonewall Rebellion: Crash Course Black American History #41to learn more! 

Pride Month is observed every year in June in honor of the Stonewall Riots and to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer pride. 

The Center for Black Equity has been working since their first Black Pride in May 1991 in Washington, D.C., to improve equity in

• Economic Equity- allowing Black LGBT people to compete effectively in the marketplace

• Social Equity- allowing Black LGBT to achieve fair access to livelihood and education; full participation in the political and cultural life; and self-determination in meeting fundamental needs

• Health Equity- allowing Black LGBT people to thrive physically, behaviorally, environmentally and spiritually. 

The movement serves as a way for Black LGBTQ+ people to discuss specific issues that are more unique to the Black LGBTQ+ community and celebrate the progress of the Black LGBTQ+ community. While the mainstream gay pride movement, often perceived as overwhelmingly white, has focused much of its energy on same-sex marriage, the Black Gay Pride movement has focused on issues such as racism, homophobia, and lack of proper health and mental care in black communities. 

Check out their website to learn more! 

The Texas State Law Library  is a legal research guide with information and resources about issues relevant to the LGBTQIA+ community. Including

• Hotlines

• Employment Rights

• Housing Rights

• Health and Healthcare Rights

• Student Rights 

• Parental Rights

Soul 2 Soul Bar & Grill is our biggest and most delicious sponsor! 

Ms. Ouida Cook and her establishment serve up scrumptious soul food and deserts including fried pork ribs, ox tails, catfish, chicken, banana pudding and more! 

Head over to her restaurant at 315 Broadway Avenue J in Galveston and support a Galveston favorite and The Future is US' Trailbazer sponsor! 

Join our friends, The Honey Brown Hope Foundation and the College Park Cemetery Association as they hold a Juneteenth Commemoration. "Unlocking and Preserving Juneteenth's History. "

College Memorial Park Cemetery, is the historic final resting place for Rev. Jack Yates and many of Houston's African American trailblazers, and was designated as a Texas State Historical Cemetery in 2002. Despite this accomplishment, the cemetery faces ongoing maintenance challenges.   

Join the luncheon and celebrate freedom, engage with others in the community in learning more about Juneteenth's history, and raise crucial funds to preserve a vital piece of Houston's Black history- College Memorial Park 

Learn more and support here, Unlocking and Preserving Juneteenth's History 

When: Saturday June 15, 12-2pm 

Where: Metropolitan Multi-Service Center (1475 West Gray, Houston, Texas 77019).

 Teen Talk, offers free peer-to-peer support for teens 13-19. For teens by teens, Teen Talk App offers a safe space for youth to vent, share, and get support from trained peers." 

A free 40 hour fall training opportunity will be coming to Galveston area high school students in September to train local youth on how to provide mental health support to their peers. 

Interested teens can complete the registration form here, Fall 2024 Texas Teen Advisor Training Application 

When Community Action Task Force Lead, Phylicia French, isn't doing The Future is US duties and writing (she's an author too!), she is helping and empowering others! 

Co-Coordinator Shanice is on the Woodville Public Engagement Planning Committee in Gloucester, Virginia! 

The Woodville Rosenwald School Foundation in Gloucester County, VA, is collecting oral histories from people who attended, or whose family members attended, historically African-American schools in Gloucester County from 1871, when public schools first opened, until the year schools were integrated in 1968.

The Woodville School is the only remaining one of six Rosenwald schools built in Gloucester County in the 1920s and celebrates its 100th birthday this year—2023. The Foundation plans to open this historic building as a museum and community center once renovations are complete.

During the Great Migration, African-American families in Gloucester relocated to urban centers such as Washington, DC; Baltimore; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; and New York City to seek better employment and educational opportunities. The Foundation hopes to connect with this descendant community to add their stories to the archive.

For more information, and/or to share your experience, please contact the Foundation by email at info@woodvillerosenwaldschool.org.

Protestors hold signs and march during demonstrations related to the death of Manuel Teran who was killed during a police raid inside Weelaunee People's Park, the planned site of a controversial "Cop City" project, in Atlanta, Jan. 21, 2023.

Cheney Orr/Reuters

ABC News

Dozens of people have been arrested in Atlanta after rocks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails were thrown at officers near the site of a public safety training center set to be constructed in the city. The center has garnered national attention after prompting protests throughout the city as well as in states like Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.

The debate over the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center has been ongoing. The center is going to be used for specialized training for both law enforcement and fire department service workers.

City officials assert that the center could improve policing, while critics claim the effort is militarizing police and endangering communities.

Here is what you need to know about the debate around the center:

What is 'Cop City'?

"Cop City" is the nickname critics have given the planned training center.

The center is expected to cost $90 million and take up over 85 acres, with the "remaining portion of the 265-acres property as greenspace," according to the center's website, potentially impacting a forest in Atlanta.

The center will include an "auditorium for police/fire and public use," a "mock city for burn building training and urban police training," an "Emergency Vehicle Operator Course for emergency vehicle driver training," a K-9 unit kennel and training, according to the center's website. The first phase of the training center is scheduled to open in late 2023.

Read the rest of the article here!