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The Future is US exists to fight for Galveston youth through community voice so future generations can meet their full potential.
TFIU NEWS!
TFIU at Youth Summit December 2024
TFIU at Youth Summit December 2024
Members and youth from The Future is US attended Prevention Institute's December 2024 Youth Summit and had an amazing time
Our Youth Engagement Lead Cora Moore and our friend and partner Robyn Douglas with Texas A&M's Youth Rising Lab held a mini Art in Activism Workshop for those in attendance as well. We discussed how art has been used to point out community issues (an artist has made soap with sewage!!) and youth were given invisible ink to create an art piece about an issue they would like to reveal to the world.
Art in Activism is a collaborative program created by The Future is US, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Robyn Douglas to educate our young local artists and empower them with the tools and skills needed to support their creating art to inspire change.
It was a wonderful day of community, conversation, and mental health at our fellow Communities of Care Collaborative, Connect Community's new MULTIMILLION DOLLAR facility, The Garden. The Garden was specifically and intentionally created with the community's youth in mind to offer them a space for them to create, move, rest, and be themselves. We would LOVE to see something like The Garden for Galveston's youth!
PAID Internship with GOFM!
PAID Internship with GOFM!
SEED Internship Overview:
Paid Internship: $1,000 upon successful completion of activities and requirements
Duration: 6 weeks (Spring 2025)
Eligibility: High School Students, aged 16 or older
Focus Areas: Environmental Stewardship, Urban Gardening, Food Justice, Green Careers
Application Window: January 1, 2025 – January 31, 2025
Internship Dates: February 23, 2025 – April 13, 2025 [excludes Spring Break]
This year’s program aims to nurture the next generation of leaders by emphasizing sustainability, cultural heritage, and community resilience. Participants will explore topics such as food justice, environmental equity, and holistic approaches to community wellness, equipping them with the tools to advocate for equitable, healthy communities.
Apply here, SEED Internship Application
Family Free Night at the Galveston Children's Museum!
Family Free Night at the Galveston Children's Museum!
From the Galveston Children's Museum:
Family Free Night is HERE!
Thursday, January 9th, from 4PM - 7PM
Bring your family and friends for an evening of fun at the Galveston Children’s Museum—no tickets needed, just your imagination! From building and crafting to exploring all the interactive exhibits, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Play, laugh, and create memories together for FREE! Don’t miss out—see you at the museum!
What is Teen Talk?
What is Teen Talk?
Volunteer at the Juneteenth Legacy Project Gallery
Volunteer at the Juneteenth Legacy Project Gallery
Register for a volunteer session here, Juneteenth Legacy Volunteering
Support TFIU!
You can support TFIU by using the QR code below!
Tell US, what do YOU think?
Tell US, what do YOU think?
Soul Food Sessions Survey
Soul Food Sessions Survey
We began our Soul Food Sessions to talk about our black mental health needs in Galveston- what is here, what works, what can be better, what do we want and need more of?
Let US know what you think Galveston needs for black mental health
Community Assessment
Community Assessment
We want to know from the experts, those that live in Galveston county, why they believe black students are disproportionately removed from the classroom, what community factors influence our black students, and what YOU think should be done about it.
You can check it out here!
Learn everything there is to know about The Future is US! The magazine explains TFIU's founding, it's work in the Galveston community, and the future of TFIU. Please check it out and share with your friends and family.
Thank you all for your support!
Give US a Follow!
What We're Reading & Listening To...
What We're Reading & Listening To...
Check out what members of The Future is US are reading and listening to!
Join US!
The Future is US Parents' Facebook Page
The Future is US Parents' Facebook Page
Check out our Parent's page on Facebook to stay up to date on The Future is US events and let US know what YOU think as a parent/caregiver of students in Galveston county!
FROM OUR PARTNERS!
Teen Talk App offers free peer-to-peer support for teens 13-19. For teens by teens, Teen Talk App offers a safe space for you to vent, share, and get support from trained peers.
Big Brothers, Big Sisters Needs Mentors!
From BBBS:
We offer a variety of mentor opportunities. Click below for additional information.
School-based mentorship: Click here for more information.
Community-based mentorship: Click here for more information.
Each match is supported by a dedicated Match Support Specialist who is always there to provide resources and support specific to the Little’s age. With a Big in their life, Littles in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program are empowered to ignite their potential as they grow in their self-esteem, earn better grades, and develop a lifelong friendship with their Big.
Breakdancing in Galveston
Breakdancing in Galveston
If you were at our Black History Talent Show this year you were lucky to see Winner's Circle amazing performance at the show!
YOU can breakdance too!
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!
FREE Books!
The Books Beginning at Birth program is a Texas state-wide program that provides young children, from the ages of 0-4 years of age, with up to 6 free in-print books, access to free digital books on their website b3tx.org, and access to helpful resources such as reading tips on how families can help foster a love of learning and reading in their home with their children.
The program is completely FREE to all Texas residents, all they require is a Texas address and zip code to send children their set of books in the mail!
You can register here, https://b3tx.org/
Hooked On Reading
Hooked On Reading
Galveston's 61st Street Fishing Pier has a reading log for children 5-12!
Read 10 books and bring their completed log to the pier and receive a FREE child's admission and one adult/chaperone admission!
1000 Books Before Kindergarten!
1000 Books Before Kindergarten!
Did you know that by reading and sharing stories with babies and young children not only helps their brain development, but strengthens your relationship with them? Research has found that reading and story telling:
Helps in developing children's brain development in concentration, focus, social skills and communication
Expands children's vocabulary! A 2019 study found that children that were regularly read to the 5years leading up to Kindergarten were exposed to 1.4 million more words.
A 2008 study found that children feel secure when read to and can support a solid parent-child relationship.
Sign up today for Rosenberg Library's Reading Challenge!
Gloucester Foundation Seeks Oral Histories About Education
Gloucester Foundation Seeks Oral Histories About Education
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.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The Unrelenting Violence Against Black Youth in Latin America: a Focus on Ecuador
The Unrelenting Violence Against Black Youth in Latin America: a Focus on Ecuador
By Janvieve Williams Comrie, January 8, 2025
The murder of four Afro-Ecuadorian boys is another tragic example of the long history of racism in Ecuador and Latin America. The utter disregard for the lives of Black youth and the refusal to seek justice for the deplorable acts committed against them reveals the true nature of those states. Building a region free of imperialist forces that will work to bring peace and stability is how the masses will rid themselves of this unrelenting violence.
The December 2024 murders of four Afro-Ecuadorian boys in Guayaquil’s Las Malvinas neighborhood have laid bare the entrenched racism and neglect faced by Black communities in Ecuador. and Josué Arroyo, of 15 and 14 years of age, Nehemías Arboleda, 15, and Steven Medina 11, disappeared on December 8th, their dismembered bodies discovered days later near a military base. This heinous act has drawn national and international condemnation, with demands for justice and accountability growing louder.
The government’s response—a state of emergency and curfew in Guayaquil and other areas until at least March 3, 2025—has been criticized for its misplaced focus. Rather than addressing the systemic poverty and racism that make (Afro-Ecuadorian) communities vulnerable, the state has doubled down on militarized crackdowns. This heavy-handed approach criminalizes Afro-descendant communities, further perpetuating systemic violence and oppression cycles of violence and mistrust…
INSIDE TFIU!
Black to the Future! (Black History Lessons)
How is Sudan's conflict worsening the humanitarian crisis?
How is Sudan's conflict worsening the humanitarian crisis?
From Inside Story/Al Jazeera English:
Famine is now present in five areas of Sudan -- in what a senior UN official says is 'a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions’. Millions are displaced and the US says genocide is taking place. What's the world doing for the people of Sudan?
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 20th, 2025
From Biography: Learn more about Martin Luther King Jr.'s efforts to transform the United States' understanding of racial inequality and his campaign with other Civil Rights leaders for equal treatment under the law in this mini biography.
TFIU School Board Watch Doc!
TFIU School Board Watch Doc!
The Future is Us’ critical goal is to effectuate policy change in GISD, so that black students, and ultimately, all children receive a quality education. However, institutional power can be adversarial at times. Therefore, it is compulsory to us as parents, youth, and Galveston community members to hold our local institutions and Board of Trustees accountable.
Through a collaborative effort, TFIU created and is making available our The Future is US SCHOOL BOARD WATCH Document. With this self-explanatory document, any interested community member can attend or watch a school board meeting, and record detailed notes and minutes, as well as assess, in real time, the quality of content in the meeting.
Once completed, please e-mail the document to info@thefutureisus.co. We will compile the information so that we can become better equipped and more effective in our advocacy for positive change and creating better GISD schools.
Thank you all in advance for your support and dedication to making sure all of Galveston’s students get the best education possible!
Upcoming Board Meetings:
Check here for all GISD Board of Trustees meetings!
Check out the TFIU Toolkit!
More Upcoming Dates!
Next Steps!
Please stay informed and up to date by visiting the following links:
You're on your phone anyway...
Follow these accounts for continued education and exposure!
There are lots of ways you can make a difference in the community!
Take our Survey (QR Code below) and let us know what you think will make change in the school district.
Join the TFiU/NIA Book Club.
Become a TFiU Member!
Visit TFiU's Youtube.
Visit TFiU's Website
GISD School Board Connection
Find all GISD meeting notes and minutes, here!
View all of the GISD Board of Trustees meetings here!
In Memoriam
Julenne Andrisee Faith Brown
October 25, 1985 - August 29, 2021
In Memoriam
Roxy Deann Hall Williamson
May 17, 1969 - April 30, 2024
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