Refugee Youth Project Afterschool Publishing Program
Afterschool publishing program hosted by Press Press in collaboration with Baltimore City Community College Refugee Youth Project
Baltimore, MD, 2014 - 2017
Through a partnership with Baltimore City Community College Refugee Youth Project, Press Press facilitated a publishing-centered afterschool program with teen refugees in an immigrant and refugee only space from 2014 - 2017. The space was designed to counter the standard model of ESL (English Second Language) learning. The standard model operates in a way that erases or ignores the identities of the learners in an effort to fit them into the hegemonic linguistic mode of the United States.
The collaborative space Press Press created, conversely, places the identities and narratives of the participants as central in the experience of learning and using English; or learning how ‘to be’ in English as one’s second language without erasing one’s native voice.
Together, students created several publications and exhibitions, including 100% Yes, an exhibition at Current Space, and publications such as, the Chilly Smart Model and the Human Rights Declaration. Students also participated as co-authors in Press Press publications including, If I Ruled the World in 2016 and Sentiments: Expressions of Cultural Passage in 2018.
The collaborative space Press Press created, conversely, places the identities and narratives of the participants as central in the experience of learning and using English; or learning how ‘to be’ in English as one’s second language without erasing one’s native voice.
Together, students created several publications and exhibitions, including 100% Yes, an exhibition at Current Space, and publications such as, the Chilly Smart Model and the Human Rights Declaration. Students also participated as co-authors in Press Press publications including, If I Ruled the World in 2016 and Sentiments: Expressions of Cultural Passage in 2018.
