Youth ACT (Advisory Council Team)

What Members Have to Say About Youth ACT

I believe that one of the biggest problems facing Los Angeles are the ignorant judgments that some groups make on others, whether it be about the type of clothes they wear, the music they listen to, their sexual orientation, race, or language they speak. Youth ACT is a diverse group of young people who work to end this ignorance. Youth ACT is made up of young people from all different economic backgrounds, races, ages, religions, and geographic areas. I don't believe that if I had joined a local community youth group that there would be as much diversity or points of view as there is in Youth ACT. I also believe that, with it being based in Los Angeles and sponsored by the LA County Human Relations Commission, Youth ACT has the chance to affect more people and make an actual impact.

—Elizabeth Mak, 16, The Marlborough School

As a young woman of Muslim faith, racism and discrimination has affected me throughout my life. Since September 11, 2002, Muslim people became the objects and targets of hate. Since then, racism has been a part of my everyday life. Youth ACT has been a life-changing experience for me. In this group, I discussed with other youth the lack of tolerance of members of the human race while developing optimism for hope and change. Investing my time in this organization has taught me to deal with and affect the ignorance of our society. It is a place where I can voice my opinions and take action. Overall, Youth ACT is a huge part of my life and after I graduate from high school and move on to College, I will always remember what Youth ACT has taught me. Once you are in, you are a life-long member.

—Farah Ali, 16, Culver City High School

I have witnessed prejudice in my daily life, the obvious type and the unknowing kind that arises in jokes, comments and conversations. Youth Act recognizes the problems regarding inter-group relations and sets out to improve this problem in our County. I have always said that to change the world one must first change their own personal world. To me that means Los Angeles. I truly believe that my city, Los Angeles, is wonderfully diverse and accepting with a rich blend of different groups, ethnic and religious. Yet there remain differences and challenges between these groups. The largest challenge is people's lack of knowledge or experience with other individuals which creates unknown biases or stereotypes, and in some cases results in hate violence. It is difficult to form a relationship with a person if you cannot understand where they are coming from, especially with regards to culture. Recently, I spoke to a young teen who had just moved to Los Angeles and he told me it's been hard because he has had no experience with different people. He asked me what he could do and if minorities and other groups of people were friendly. When I told him I felt I was a kind person and that I was half-black, he was immediately surprised and said he had no idea African-Americans were so warm and intelligent. I know I could have been angry at his comment but I focused on its positive aspect and recognized his ignorance. After a few weeks, this same young man told me his life was better and that at high school he now walks with a varied group of friends. I feel that as a member of Youth Act I have the chance to speak about the issues I see day to day and be given the chance to help form new ideas regarding tolerance. I greatly admire what Youth ACT is doing and I value the opportunity to have a voice in local government and the community through Youth ACT

—Lense Gebre-Mariam, 17, Palisades Charter High School

Personally, I have benefited from Youth ACT in many ways. I experienced such things as a Theater of the Oppressed workshop led by Dr. Augusto Boal where we learned about "Legislative Theater," a type of theater that uses story sharing, situation acting, and mock chamber meetings to help community members change oppressive situations. Working with such an eclectic group of people as those in Youth ACT, I have truly learned to look at my own stereotypes. It has helped me to understand myself, my family and other people better. I have had the opportunity to share these learnings with other youth teaching Youth ACT anti-discrimination workshops at youth conferences.

—Juventino Aceves, 19, East Los Angeles Community College