Vol. 25

October 2023

The Future is US exists to fight for Galveston youth through community voice so future generations can meet their full potential.

TFIU NEWS!

Join The Future is US and Partners for October Fun! 

Galveston State of the City- Tuesday October 10th

Residents are invited to attend the annual State of the City hosted by the Galveston Roundtable of Foundations in the Seibel Wing auditorium at Galveston College on Tuesday, October 10. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for light refreshments and the program will begin at 6 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public, and free parking will be available nearby on Avenue Q near 40th Street and Mike Gaido Blvd.

For nearly a decade, the Galveston Roundtable of Foundations has hosted an annual State of the City address in which the mayor and city manager provide an in-depth presentation on current achievements, projects and issues affecting the City of Galveston. There will also be a Q&A portion of the address where Mayor Craig Brown and City Manager Brian Maxwell will address questions submitted by residents in advance and written questions submitted that evening.

City staff will be available afterwards to discuss specific issues individually with citizens face-to-face, as will representatives from the Port of Galveston, the Park Board of Trustees, and the city’s Families, Children and Youth Board.

To submit your questions in advance, please visit galvestontx.gov/stateofthecity and enter the question form.

The Galveston Roundtable of Foundations is a network of staff and board members representing numerous local charitable foundations.  

Teen Talk

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. 

Family Impacts 

Throughout the month of October, CHILDREN AT RISK will be hosting community conversations across 12 cities in Texas, discussing the effects of the 88th Regular Legislative Session on Early Childhood Education and next steps for continuing to build a robust child care system in Texas that supports young children and their families.


Houston Conversation- October 20th 

10:30am-12pm 


Location: The United Way of Greater Houston

50 Waugh Dr, Houston, TX 77007

Register:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/houston-texas-tour-tickets-399619692257




Questions? Comments? Concerns? Reach out to Jacob at jwestjohn@childrenatrisk.org


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! 

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.

Tell US, what do YOU think?

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 

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. 

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/

Baby Talk at Rosenberg Library 

Baby Talk starts up again at the Rosenberg Library Tuesday, SEPTEMBER 12 at 9:30 AM! Baby Talk is a free, fun, interactive time for little ones to develop their skills with their caregivers. For ages 0-24 months. 

Weekly Zoom Storytime! 

Why is Reading Important? 

Fanfare! Lutheran Music Academy Fall Classes open! 

Fanfare! Lutheran Music Academy has several music and dance classes available for youth AND adults for fall! 


They too have a few scholarships available on a first come, first serve basis!

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! 

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!

The Future is US at Young Minds Matter Conference Panel: Using Youth Voice to Conceptualize Social Justice

Your voice is your power. When the decision is made to fight against oppressive systems, we must understand that social justice can take place in many ways. Often in ways that we fail to recognize. But, you have to recognize that you are already an agent of change. The Future is US Galveston has engaged in a variety of methods to cultivate and empower youth and community voices. Fighting for equity through social justice. could be anything from self-care, to voting, to joining an organization, or even front-line direct action. Overcoming the barriers which create disparities and inequities in the school system which impact the most vulnerable students is the ultimate goal. Hear from members of The Future is US as we share how we have encouraged our community to become social agents of change.



Give US a Follow! 

What We're Reading & Listening To...

Check out what members of The Future is US are reading and listening to!

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.

Join US! 

Join Our Parent Advisory Council

Led by parent Clara Miller, our Parent Advisory Council meets Monday nights 


Join Our Policy Task Force

Become a TFIU Advocate

We are community led and driven and need YOU to make community change in Galveston!

There are multiple ways you can get involved and work directly with US in making Galveston a community for ALL. 

FROM OUR PARTNERS!

FREE Sunrise and Sunset Beach Yoga!

FREE sunrise and sunset yoga classes in Galveston on East Beach throughout the month of May from the Galveston County Community Coalition! 

NO registration required! 

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!

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:

Sign up today for Rosenberg Library's Reading Challenge!


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Denouncing UN Security Council's Approval to Send a Kenya-led Mission to Haiti

WE DENOUNCE UN SECURITY COUNCIL'S

APPROVAL TO SEND A KENYA-LED MISSION TO HAITI

Oct 3rd, 2023

We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the decision by the United States and its allies to deploy a foreign military force to Haiti. We are adamant that a U.S./UN-led armed foreign intervention in Haiti is not only illegitimate, but illegal. And we support Haitian people and civil society organizations who have been consistent in their opposition to foreign armed military intervention – and who have argued that the problems of Haiti are a direct result of the persistent and long-term meddling of the United States, the United Nations, and the Core Group.

On Monday, October 2nd, 2023, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) voted on a resolution for a Multinational Security Support Mission authorizing the deployment of a foreign  military and police intervention into the Republic of Haiti. Although the vote did not receive unanimous approval as it saw abstentions from two permanent UNSC members, 13 other permanent and non-permanent members voted in support, including 3 African countries (Gabon, Ghana and Mozambique). This is a particularly egregious betrayal of Haiti, which has been for Africans and Black people around the world, a beacon in the fight against slavery, colonialism and imperialism. Yet the U.S. administration, the corporate media, alongside figures such as Linda Thomas-Greenfield, have hailed the vote as a victory. We note, also, that the U.S. has tapped Kenya, another African country, to lead a multinational force of “volunteer” nations to occupy Haiti, leaving their own troops at home while offering at leas t$100 million in support.

There is a long history here. For more than two years now, the U.S. has been pushing for a build-up of the military presence in Haiti to protect the puppet government of the unelected and unpopular Ariel Henry. Yet the U.S. is not willing to put its own boots on the ground, turning instead, first to Canada, then Brazil, then the CELAC and CARICOM countries–all of whom were reluctant to lead the mission, even if they supported the call for military intervention. The Kenyan government leapt at the opportunity to lead the intervention, bought off by a bag of silver and an approving pat on their neoliberal heads. Haiti will now be invaded by the U.S., but with the Black face of Kenya as cover. Kenya erroneously claims this is “Pan-Africanism;” it is, in fact, neocolonialism.

We are told that the interest of the U.S. in Haiti is humanitarian, that the U.S wants to protect the Haitian people from “criminal gangs.” Yet U.S. weapons have flooded Haiti, and the U.S. has consistently rejected calls to effectively enforce the UNSC resolution for an arms embargo against the Haitian and U.S. elite who import guns into the country. Moreover, when we speak of “gangs,” we must recognize that the most powerful gangs in the country are subsidiaries of the U.S. itself: the United Nations Integrated Office (BINUH) and the Core Group, the two colonial entities who have effectively ruled the country since the U.S./France/Canada-backed coup d’etat of 2004. Haiti has no sovereignty and has long been under foreign occupation. The current de facto “Prime Minister” was installed by the Core Group and whatever calls for military intervention are being made by those already occupying Haiti.

We hold in contempt the neocolonial governments that are taking part in this mission to further oppress Haitian people and deny them sovereignty. We denounce the governments of Kenya and the CARICOM nations, such as Bahamas, Jamaica, and Antigua and Barbuda, which have  failed Haiti and have violated the notion of the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

Furthermore, we demand that:

We vow to stand on the side of the Haitian people against imperialism! 

SIGNED,

Acción Afro-Dominicana, RD

ADDI Caribbean

All African People’s Revolutionary Party

Alliance for Global Justice

Anti Displacement NYC

Black Alliance for Peace, Haiti/Americas Team

Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration

Caribbean Organisation for Peoples Empowerment

Caribbean Solidarity Network

Chicago Antiwar Coalition (CAWC)

CODEPINK

Comité Dominicano de Derechos Humanos -CDDH-, RD

Committee of Anti-Imperialists in Solidarity with Iran

Communist Party of Kenya

Community Movement Builders

Consejo de Organizaciones Sociales y Populares del Paraguay

Consejo por la Emancipación Plurinacional Peruana

Cooperation Jackson

COPLAC-Confederación Palestina Latinoamericana y del Caribe

Dar al Janub - Verein für antirassistische und Friedenspolitische Initiative

Diaspora Pa’lante Collective

Dr. Alejandro Rusconi – Movimiento Evita

Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez

La Articulación Regional Afrodescendiente de las Américas y el Caribe (ARAAC)

Left Alliance for National Democracy and Socialism - Jamaica LANDS

Malcolm X Center for Self Determination

Mascuba

Michigan General Defense Committee

Midwestern Marx Institute

MOLEGHAF (Mouvman Libèté, Egalite sou chimen Fratènite tout Ayisyen)

Movimiento Caamañista -MC-, RD

Movimiento Popular Dominicano -MPD-, RD

Movimiento Rebelde -MR-, RD

Movimiento Reconocido

Observatorio de Derechos Humanos de los Pueblos

Palestinian Youth Movement - Detroit Chapter

Pan-African Community Action (PACA)

Partido Comunista del Trabajo -PCT-, RD

Partido Movimiento del Socialismo Allendista de Chile

Partido Nuevo Encuentro – Argentina

Partido Socialista de Peru

Pro Derechos Humanos Bolivia (PRODEHBOL)

Rasanbleman Pou Ayiti

Rethink New Orleans

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Socialist Workers League-Nigeria

SOLI Puerto Rico

Solidaridad Dominicana Con Haití, Rep. Dominicana

The African Diaspora Foundation (Barbados)

The Barbados Sovereignty Party

The Global Pan African Movement (GPAM) North American Chapter

The Global Sovereign Peoples Movement

The International Black Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The People’s Forum

The Regional Coordination Committee of the Pan Afrikan and Indigenous Movement of the Caribbean

The Ubuntu Reading Group

Troika Collective

World BEYOND War


INSIDE TFIU!

Black to the Future! (Black History Lessons)

The Life of Amilcar Cabral

On January 20, 1973, one of Africa’s foremost anti-colonial leaders: Amílcar Cabral was assassinated in Conakry, Guinea at the age of 48 by political rivals, allegedly supported by the Portuguese colonial government. Cabral not only led the war of independence that toppled Portuguese rule in Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde but influenced the fight for decolonization across the continent of Africa…. 

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!

You're on your phone anyway...

Follow these accounts for continued education and exposure!

Antiracism Daily

Vision Galveston

Culturally Competent Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

The School-to-Prison Pipeline

There are lots of ways you can make a difference in the community! 

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