May
22, 2007 - Dr. Sheila Johnson has always cared about the youth in our communities.
A former teacher, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder
of BET’s Teen Summit (a forum in the early '90s that addressed issues facing teens) Dr. Johnson is still,
true-to-form, providing a means to connect with our youth.
Dr. Johnson and the Washington Mystics Foundation held its 2nd Annual
Hip Hop forum at Anacostia High School. The forum’s topic: Role Models and Icons.
With a distinguished panel that included D.C. Mayor, Adrian Fenty, Dr. Sheila Johnson, Washington
Mystics guard Nikki Teasley, actor Darrin Henson (Soul Food’s, Lem), and moderated by Hip Hop artist/rapper MC
Lyte, the forum addressed violence in schools, internet safety, school security, and more.
D.C Judge, Anita Jose Herring seated in the
audience of teens and students, cited the following statistics facing our youth today. "Fifty percent
of crimes committed by youth is violent. Of that percentage, girls produce
32% of those violent crimes."
"Girls are being prosecuted as adults
on charges of assault with guns and other weapons as early as sixteen."
Mayor Fenty adds that guns are too accessible
to children, citing that Anacostia high school students can easily "cross the border by going to Maryland and Virginia gun
shops. "We have to stop making guns easily accessible to our youth."
Adds Judge Herring, "Community has to step up and say we won’t
accept the level of disrepect, and the behavior that is bringing everybody down.”
In a world where youth are bombarded with media images that often depict violent images and
disseminate wrong information, the forum shed light on how youth can get help and advice when they need it.
"Find a mentor, someone who you can trust and can guide you", said Dr. Johnson.
"Don’t give up on yourself. Please don’t.
We’re here because we love and care about you. We have these forums to educate you and find out what’s going on with you”, added Dr. Johnson.
Actor, Derrin Henson explained that living a lifestyle of bad choices has damaging consequences. “When faced with a dead end street, what do you do?, the actor asked the teen
audience.
“You turn around.” Making
the analogy that in life, if you’re going down a dead end or making the wrong decisions, one should turn around.
Darrin told the students that being educated and informed is one way to make a
change for the better.
“Knowledge is potential, but it’s only powerful when you elect to do something
with the knowledge. You have to put action behind
the knowledge for it to become powerful", Henson said.
Nikki Teasley, Mystics guard, had these words of encouragement
for the young teens when asked how to manage anger. “You
need confidence. Don’t be afraid to say 'no' to your friends who are trying to get you to do the wrong things. Believe you can be successful. I’m
living proof you can rise above circumstances.”
As the teens were given the opportunity to address the panel, student Krissandra Smith
asked, "How many forums are we going to have before somebody does something?", making reference that little or no changes have been seen in the community.
"Everyone reports the bad things that go on in our schools, but where is the media when
something good happens?", asked Krissandra.
"We just had one of our top students go to China, but no one in the news covered that",
said Ms. Smith.
When asked by the forum's moderator, MC Lyte, what youth need in the communities,
Krisshandra Smith answered, “A lot of communities don’t have recreation centers. So there's no place to hang out
after school."
Ron Moten,
co-founder of The Peace-a-holics, an organization created to galvanize community, businesses, and local government to
provide teens alternatives and encouragement to make positive lifestyle choices, said we need to “educate our children.” “We tell the kids to do one thing, and as adults we do the opposite.”
It’s refreshing to note that a few students we interviewed shared that they simply
find other outlets to keep them focused so that they don’t get caught up in the gang related violence, and negativity
of youth culture, and have advised their friends and peer groups to do the same.
Eleventh grade Anacostia student, Tynesha King says she writes poetry, and is planning
on majoring in Journalism or Criminal Justice after graduation.
Her advice to students is to "walk away from violence."
"Don’t lower yourself to the level of those who are trying to bring you down", Ms.
Smith said.
More good advice came from Dr. Johnson, who told the crowd of youth, both male and female:
“In America, you have everything you need right
here to be successful. Take advantage of it.”
The Washington Mystics Foundation, a national non-profit organization dedicated to improve,
and maintain, the total health and well being of youth using Hip Hop forums as a platform to increase awareness of issues
facing the Hip Hop community. Future forum topics will include Teen Depression,
Racism, Messages in the Media, and Hip Hop: Vote for Change.
The Mystics Foundation will host its first annual gala June 5th at the Fairmont
Hotel in Washington, D.C. Proceeds from the event benefit the foundation and
its awareness efforts to teach youth about childhood obesity, living healthy lifestyles, and sponsorship for future Hip Hop
Forums.
For more information, see www.washingtonmysticsfoundation.org.
