It Takes a Village would be impossible without the generous donation of time, skills, and school and hair supplies from the amazing community members and businesses that show up every year! 

Community showed up! 

For the 4th year in a row, Noche Berry's Salon and Club 68 hosted our back to school event out of their businesses

Busy Bee Taxi again provided free transportation for Galveston,  TX city limit residents!

Because of the Warriors Fund,  we were able to give away pairs of Converse! 

Like all The Future is US events we had food food food! Thanks to the generous donations from Mod Coffee House,  Councilwoman Sharon Lewis, and Ophelia's everyone was fed! 

After some students got their hair done, they hopped right in to help and braid others hair! 

We especially have to shout out the amazing partners that were a part of our planning committee and showed up day of to help. Many of these organizations have been with us since year 1 and we couldn't do it without them: Big Brothers Big Sisters, GLSEN, Galveston's Own Farmer's Market, Family Service Center, and Communities in Schools. 

It TRULY takes a village!

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! 

 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.

August 28, 2024

By A-APRP

On July 6th, 2024, the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) held their first summit in Niamey, Niger formally declaring their confederation. This newly formed confederacy of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger originally emerged as a mutual security pact to defend their countries’ borders from rising terrorism. This pact has since grown into a joint leadership that reaffirmed the withdrawal of the AES from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a decision initially expressed in January 2024. 

The masses of African people are moving, continuing their steady march towards Pan-Africanism. This movement erupted in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, wresting control from neo-colonial regimes in the form of popular juntas: Colonel Assimi Goïta, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, and General Abdourahamane Tchiani each, urged into leadership by their people. After assuming power, the leaders proceeded to expel France and their imperialist counterpart, the United States, from their territories. These victories came after decades of popular disaffection with comprador governments.

The states of the AES each attained “flag independence” from France in 1960. This came as the result of sustained resistance by colonized peoples which forced France to recognize that maintaining colonial control was increasingly costly, counterproductive and untenable. Unwilling to sacrifice the massive profits derived from the exploitation of Africa’s resources, France continued to impose economic decisions on their former colonies, pivoting from an overt colonialism to a neo-colonial relationship. This economic trajectory continued to shift Africa’s resources to France while African people remained in a state of perpetual destitution, subsistence, and dependency. True political, military, and economic independence would never be achieved so long as the neo-colonial relation with France was maintained. 

Neo-colonialism has been the reality of the nations comprising the AES for decades. Their recent formation of an anti-imperialist confederation has moved them closer to sovereignty, self-determination, and producing a “liberated zone”, or territories where true independence is achieved. Such territories would be of service to all Africans struggling to defeat neo-colonialism. Liberated zones create a foundation for broader regional or continental unity by way of a unified front against imperialist exploitation. Historically, Africans have established liberated zones only to have them reversed through imperialist intrigue and the maneuvers of their neo-colonial puppets. But, the African masses are wary of these machinations, they are clear in their direction and are determined to defend their hard-earned triumphs. To safeguard the gains of the AES and avoid being disrupted, they must continue to organize the people into mass organizations charged with developing their collective consciousness and changing their material reality.

The decision made by the Alliance of Sahelian States to remove foreign troops from their territories stands as a stellar example for the entire African continent. The All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (AAPRP) views this as a positive step towards the elimination of foreign interference in Africa. These developments may very well serve as a potential catalyst of the All-African Committee for Political Coordination, a framework facilitating the consolidation of revolutionary Pan-African parties towards one, unified, socialist Africa. The AAPRP has witnessed firsthand the progress achieved by the initiative of the AES but understands there is more work ahead. True political integration and the investment of power in the hands of the masses will be significant next steps to be taken by the AES. We continue to support their forward progress toward forging continental unity. We salute the masses of the people in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and their new leadership for their heroic struggle toward Pan-Africanism.

Long Live the Heroic Masses of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger!

Forward the Alliance of Sahelian States!