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>>Charlottesville 
has a lot to offer,

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and there's so many different 
parts of the community,

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you know, like, there's 
not one community,

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there's so many different 
communities here.

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>>I think we all 
have a role to play,

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but finding out 
what that role is,

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is an individualized thing.

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>>You can't just sit at home

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and think something's 
going to change,

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because it's not, 
you have to get out,

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you have to reach 
out, you have to try.

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>>Today on this special episode

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of "Charlottesville Inside-Out"

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we're going to introduce you

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to five people you 
may or may not know

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who are striving to make a 
difference in the community

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in a variety of ways, 
often behind the scenes.

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Join us as we find out what 
inspires them to do the work

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and why they are dedicated 
to being the change, come on.

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>>Production funding

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for "Charlottesville 
Inside-Out" is provided by.

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(light music)

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(gentle music)

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>>Myra Anderson is a poet

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and a UVA Equity Center 
Community fellow-in-residence.

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She is also the founder 
of Brave Souls on Fire,

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a peer run organization 
focused on emotional wellness,

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advocacy, and healing justice 
for African Americans.

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As a descendant of 
enslaved families

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of Monticello and the 
University of Virginia,

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Myra reflects upon her roots 
to help inform the change

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she wants to bring about 
now and for the future.

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>>Dear Africa, I was not 
born in the sacred land,

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but my blood beats from 
the heart of the ancestors.

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So I am one with thee.

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And even though we may 
not speak the same tongue,

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I can still move to 
the beat of your drum,

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my heart pulses to its rhythm

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as it becomes the 
essence of sound.

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I am an individual that loves 
the city that I live in.

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I am a person who's 
committed to doing the work

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to make my city better.

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I just, I love people, and 
I like seeing people well,

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and having access to the 
things that they need in life.

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Poetry kinda tells the 
tale of my own story,

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I've written many 
times when I, myself,

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was struggling 
with various things

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and there seems to 
be no other outlet,

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I started to write about it.

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Sankofa is a mythical 
bird, African bird,

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and the meaning behind sankofa 
is in order to move forward,

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you have to go 
back to your roots.

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So it's not only about 
what I'm trying to do

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with this mental health project,

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but it's me and my own journey

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going back and 
understanding about my roots

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which happens to be,

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my ancestors were 
enslaved at Monticello

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and were also amongst 
the enslaved laborers

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at the University of Virginia.

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So when I reflect 
on that, it's like,

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one of my ancestors helped 
build the stone foundation

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the stairs of the rotunda,

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and you fast forward, 
like over 190 years,

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I'm at that same 
university, his descendant,

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and what I'm doing is 
working on a project

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that is gonna bring dignity 
and hope and support

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to the very people 
who were denied theirs

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that many years ago.

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My project focuses specifically 
on black mental health,

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and it's about creating, 
not only a space,

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but a safe liberating space

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to be able to try to 
unpack some of the things

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that is weight, that as a black 
people and black community,

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we continue to carry.

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And that's so important 
for so many reasons

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first of all, because 
African Americans

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are more likely to experience 
mental health problems,

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and then secondly, there is 
a whole nother complexity,

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racism, medical racism, and bias

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that often makes up 
individuals, African Americans,

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reluctant to seek the help.

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And then there's a third layer

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of cultural stigma in the 
African American community,

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that it's not okay, you know,

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you have to be a strong person

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and it kinda goes against 
that that cultural norm

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to seek help.

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So the whole idea 
is understanding

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that there is an 
internal component,

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there is a cultural component,

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and then there is 
engaging in a system

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that has not 
historically, you know,

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been conducive to black 
people getting help,

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all of those things together, 
is why I chose to focus

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on black mental health and 
naturally my own black skin

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and having that lived 
experience myself

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added on top of that.

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It wasn't until 
more recent years

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when I started to just feel 
the weight of a lot of things

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going on in our community.

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And at first, I was 
looking to other people,

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like, "Who's gonna fix 
this, who's gonna step up

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and help or work on this?"

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And I struggled with 
that question for a while

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and then I came to 
the conclusion that 
maybe I'm the person,

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maybe it's me, maybe 
it's for me to step up

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in whatever capacity 
that I could

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and try to see what I could do.

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I don't think I just 
had this one moment

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where I was like, 
"Oh, I wanna do this,"

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but it was more of a realization

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that we all have a role to play

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and until our community is 
a great place for everyone,

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and everyone is thriving, 
there's always work to be done.

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>>Visit Brave Souls 
on Fire on Facebook

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to learn more about the 
mental health support services

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and resources they provide

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for African Americans 
in the community.

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Robert Gray is a father, 
a sports enthusiast,

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and a member of the 
community hotline network

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"Sitdowns Before Shootouts."

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He is also the cofounder

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of the Conscious 
Capitalist Foundation,

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an organization that 
works to interrupt

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the school to prison pipeline

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by providing financial literacy 
training, business skills,

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and credible 
messenger mentoring.

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Having dropped out 
of college twice

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before earning his 
political science degree,

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Robert is committed to 
giving community youth

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the chances they 
need to succeed.

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>>I always say I'm not a 
role model, I'm a real model.

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I'm a community guy, I'm an 
activist, I'm an advocate.

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When I wake up, you 
know, I wanna go to work.

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I love what I'm doing, 
I love my community,

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I love my people,

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and so that kinda like 
gives me the energy

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to, you know, wake up and do 
this over and over and over.

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Social entrepreneurship 
is essentially

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identifying a problem 
that exists in society,

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your community, and 
creating a business model

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or business idea to 
address that issue.

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Our primary focus 
is on, you know,

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youth in the juvenile justice 
system, court-involved youth,

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you know, most of my family 
has been incarcerated

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at some point in their life,

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and I'm kinda like 
the exception,

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but I'm not bigger 
than my community.

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If you can believe in yourself, 
you can change the world.

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And so a lot of these kids,

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they don't think they 
can change the world

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but in reality and 
actuality they can,

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they can change the world.

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They're very creative, you know,

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they wanna be able to learn 
how to create something

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and, you know, add 
value to their lives,

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the lives of their families,

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and then just the 
community in general.

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We primarily focus on financial 
literacy, entrepreneurship,

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and workforce 
development training,

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but then we also 
provide mentoring

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around better decision making,

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so essentially teaching them 
how to make better decisions

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and ideally, how to become 
assets to their communities

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and not liabilities.

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We grew up in a very 
rural community,

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where at one point, 
you know, in the '90s,

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it was ravaged by a lot of drugs

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and so we just, we saw 
stuff early growing up.

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For me, I felt like 
I was that kid,

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you know, in high school,

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I'd be in the back of 
the class, like doodling.

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It's kinda like, I lost, like 
total interest in education.

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And so like, I was a sports guy,

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you know, in the sports arena

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you meet a lot of 
different people.

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And so, I think that's kinda 
like the community part.

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It's not like, I'm 
going into the community

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not knowing individuals,

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like I know a lot of 
these individuals,

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and I have, like, real 
relationships with people.

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And then also my uncle,

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he was my basketball 
coach growing up.

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And I just seen, 
like, the compassion

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he had for the neighborhood,

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like the kids growing 
up in the neighborhood,

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he would like literally 
pick a bunch of us up,

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take us on AEU trips, gave us 
kind of like an opportunity

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to see the world outside of 
just like our small community,

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and Charlottesville in general.

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So that was kind of like 
an eye opener for me.

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I'm big on practical 
application,

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so if someone wants to 
get involved in anything,

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not just this line of work,

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the first thing you gotta do 
is believe in yourself, right?

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You have to convince yourself

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that you can do whatever 
it is you're trying to do

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before you can 
convince somebody else.

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The second step is research.

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You gotta be a 
researched practitioner,

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that's what I call it, gotta 
know what you're talking about.

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It's a lot easier for the 
youth to accept the information

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'cause the first 
thing they wanna know

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is like, kinda like what 
you've been through.

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But then also, you have to 
have a personal conviction,

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I call it a purpose,

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like, I have a purpose 
for this line of work.

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I just wanna make sure 
kids have the opportunity

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to, you know, 
embrace their gifts,

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but then also, providing them 
with the resources they need

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in order to, you know, 
manifest their gifts,

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and shine a light on the world.

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>>To learn more about the 
Conscious Capitalist Foundation,

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visit 
consciouscapitalistfoundation.o.

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With a tremendous amount of 
support from the community,

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athlete and former 
educator, Katie Kishore,

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founded Kindness Cafe, 
a nonprofit coffee shop

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created to employ adults 
with cognitive disabilities.

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Katie's story is proof

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that even for the strongest, 
most independent people,

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sudden life changes 
can make us reevaluate

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our priorities and 
our perceptions,

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and help us to understand 
how much we can learn

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from people with 
different experiences.

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>>One of the 
lessons I've learned

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both through my life experiences

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and working in this world of 
with adults with disabilities

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is that it's a gift to be 
able to lean on others,

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it's a gift to be able to both 
provide support for a friend,

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but it's also a gift 
to have the strength

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to ask for support.

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So I have two daughters.

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Mira is nine years old, and 
she's typically developing.

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She is joyful and fun, 
and a great big sister.

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A lot of positive energy.

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My other daughter is Kiran,

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she's seven years old and 
she has Down syndrome.

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She is also very joyful and fun,

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they have a lot of 
things in common

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in terms of how they 
interact with the world,

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and then obviously they 
have a lot of differences.

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Mira is gonna check 
you out a little longer

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and where she and I might 
hesitate, Kiran is all in.

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She has that shout 
it from the rooftops

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kind of joy and energy and love.

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00:11:58,266 --> 00:12:00,966
When I was thinking 
about pursuing this idea

248
00:12:00,966 --> 00:12:02,933
of a coffee shop 
that employed adults

249
00:12:02,933 --> 00:12:05,033
with cognitive disabilities,

250
00:12:05,033 --> 00:12:06,633
there was a lot of 
excitement around it, right?

251
00:12:06,633 --> 00:12:08,200
A lot of people were supportive,

252
00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,400
and it's fun to 
do something new.

253
00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:14,133
And then there's also some 
real fear in it for me,

254
00:12:14,133 --> 00:12:16,433
and you know, not only 
what if it doesn't succeed,

255
00:12:16,433 --> 00:12:18,500
but what is it 
gonna be like for me

256
00:12:18,500 --> 00:12:20,700
raising a daughter with 
the cognitive disability

257
00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:23,200
to throw myself into this world

258
00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:25,700
of adults with 
cognitive disabilities.

259
00:12:25,700 --> 00:12:29,666
So I think for me, it 
took me to understand

260
00:12:29,666 --> 00:12:31,966
that fear was gonna be 
a part of the process,

261
00:12:31,966 --> 00:12:33,966
and I was gonna uncover 
things about myself

262
00:12:33,966 --> 00:12:35,566
and discover things 
about the world

263
00:12:35,566 --> 00:12:36,800
that were gonna 
be uncomfortable,

264
00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:38,800
but that it was 
gonna be worth it.

265
00:12:39,966 --> 00:12:42,966
I grew up very committed 
to being the best

266
00:12:42,966 --> 00:12:45,233
at everything I pursued.

267
00:12:45,233 --> 00:12:49,833
I played soccer and basketball, 
and I excelled in both,

268
00:12:49,833 --> 00:12:52,566
and I went on to play soccer 
and basketball at UVA,

269
00:12:52,566 --> 00:12:54,400
I was the captain of both teams.

270
00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:55,900
Following graduation,

271
00:12:55,900 --> 00:12:58,166
I played professional 
soccer in New York.

272
00:12:58,166 --> 00:13:00,600
In 2014, a lot 
happened in my life.

273
00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,233
I've grown older, I'm a mom,

274
00:13:03,233 --> 00:13:05,933
athletics doesn't have 
the same role in my life

275
00:13:05,933 --> 00:13:07,366
as it once did,

276
00:13:07,366 --> 00:13:10,333
my husband had been diagnosed 
with terminal cancer,

277
00:13:10,333 --> 00:13:14,733
Kiran was born, and then two 
weeks later, he passed away.

278
00:13:14,733 --> 00:13:17,200
And the day after 
Kiran was born,

279
00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:19,400
she was diagnosed 
with Down syndrome.

280
00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:23,233
And you know, Kiran is 
a star today, right?

281
00:13:23,233 --> 00:13:26,300
She is a joy and a gift.

282
00:13:26,300 --> 00:13:29,366
And I'm glad I've 
been able to raise her

283
00:13:29,366 --> 00:13:30,833
and to be with her.

284
00:13:30,833 --> 00:13:32,533
In that in that 
moment, though, right,

285
00:13:32,533 --> 00:13:35,366
it felt like a 
challenging diagnosis,

286
00:13:35,366 --> 00:13:38,300
it felt like an added weight

287
00:13:38,300 --> 00:13:42,066
to an already 
difficult situation.

288
00:13:43,233 --> 00:13:47,933
And, you know, from life 
experiences, we grow.

289
00:13:48,833 --> 00:13:50,533
Kris was a wonderful man,

290
00:13:50,533 --> 00:13:53,733
he was a long time 
teacher in the community,

291
00:13:53,733 --> 00:13:55,366
he was very kind, right?

292
00:13:55,366 --> 00:13:57,866
And so when we are 
talking about names,

293
00:13:57,866 --> 00:14:00,433
when we stumbled across 
the name of kindness,

294
00:14:00,433 --> 00:14:02,366
well we thought it worked 
for a lot of people reasons

295
00:14:02,366 --> 00:14:04,833
and one of those was 
that Kris was known

296
00:14:04,833 --> 00:14:06,933
to many of his 
friends as the K Man,

297
00:14:06,933 --> 00:14:09,633
and so his name Kris 
is spelled with a K,

298
00:14:09,633 --> 00:14:11,866
last name is Kishore, 
also spelled with a K.

299
00:14:11,866 --> 00:14:14,066
So we thought it was 
a good fit, you know,

300
00:14:14,066 --> 00:14:15,866
I don't think the 
average customer knows

301
00:14:15,866 --> 00:14:18,200
that the K has any 
significance beyond kindness.

302
00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:20,033
But you know, it's 
nice within our family

303
00:14:20,033 --> 00:14:24,533
to know that it represents 
Kris in some ways.

304
00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:27,633
I want people to love 
coming to Kindness,

305
00:14:27,633 --> 00:14:30,266
and I want people to 
experience joy at Kindness,

306
00:14:30,266 --> 00:14:31,900
and I also want people to have

307
00:14:31,900 --> 00:14:34,933
their perceptions 
challenged a little bit.

308
00:14:34,933 --> 00:14:39,933
I want our customers to 
realize what they can learn

309
00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:43,833
by interacting with our staff.

310
00:14:43,833 --> 00:14:47,200
If we can all see the 
gifts in those around us,

311
00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,833
and we can treat others 
with with kindness,

312
00:14:49,833 --> 00:14:52,733
then that's really 
the change we need.

313
00:14:52,733 --> 00:14:56,366
Everyone brings gifts and 
value into this world,

314
00:14:56,366 --> 00:14:58,733
and it's important that 
we have eyes to see it.

315
00:15:00,666 --> 00:15:03,400
>>To learn more about the Cafe 
and the community partners

316
00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:05,800
who came together to 
make it a reality,

317
00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,433
visit kindnesscafecville.com.

318
00:15:09,433 --> 00:15:12,366
(fast-paced music)

319
00:15:15,766 --> 00:15:19,200
Jimmy Hollins is the co-founder 
of the Burley Varsity Club,

320
00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:22,033
a group of athletes who attended 
the all-black high school

321
00:15:22,033 --> 00:15:27,033
that served the community 
from 1951 to 1967.

322
00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:30,166
Focused on preserving the 
history of their beloved school,

323
00:15:30,166 --> 00:15:32,033
the club was recently successful

324
00:15:32,033 --> 00:15:34,666
in listing the building 
as a Virginia landmark

325
00:15:34,666 --> 00:15:38,200
and on the National 
Register of Historic Places.

326
00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:41,733
Additional projects have 
included honorary road signs,

327
00:15:41,733 --> 00:15:43,733
plaques, and a memorial wall

328
00:15:43,733 --> 00:15:47,366
to celebrate coaches, 
faculty, and students.

329
00:15:47,366 --> 00:15:50,333
Almost always quietly 
working behind the scenes

330
00:15:50,333 --> 00:15:53,833
and often with area partners, 
Jimmy is currently helping

331
00:15:53,833 --> 00:15:56,100
with the Burley 
Restoration Project

332
00:15:56,100 --> 00:15:57,566
to repair and modernize

333
00:15:57,566 --> 00:16:00,833
the existing athletic 
field and facility.

334
00:16:00,833 --> 00:16:04,766
>>Have you ever seen that 
movie "Friday Night Lights"?

335
00:16:04,766 --> 00:16:07,633
Well, Burley was 
Friday night lights.

336
00:16:07,633 --> 00:16:09,933
If you were a student,

337
00:16:09,933 --> 00:16:13,366
you could not wait 
until school was out,

338
00:16:13,366 --> 00:16:17,933
you go home, you 
ate, you waited.

339
00:16:17,933 --> 00:16:20,766
Of course when you 
played football,

340
00:16:20,766 --> 00:16:23,666
Coach Jones didn't 
let you go back home.

341
00:16:23,666 --> 00:16:26,700
Or Coach Smith didn't 
let you go back home.

342
00:16:26,700 --> 00:16:30,600
You would lay out in the 
hallway and take a nap,

343
00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:32,633
and then they'd wake 
you up at a certain time

344
00:16:32,633 --> 00:16:35,566
when you go change, 
put your uniform on,

345
00:16:35,566 --> 00:16:38,300
and when the team 
came on the field,

346
00:16:38,300 --> 00:16:41,866
the team ran in between the 
band and the cheerleaders.

347
00:16:41,866 --> 00:16:43,500
Nothing like it.

348
00:16:43,500 --> 00:16:46,833
I wouldn't trade it in for 
nothing in the world, mm-mm.

349
00:16:49,866 --> 00:16:53,333
Only if we lost that's the only 
time you wanna trade it in.

350
00:16:54,733 --> 00:16:58,333
Yeah, but that was far 
and few in between.

351
00:16:59,766 --> 00:17:04,333
The Burley Varsity Club is an 
organization made up of guys

352
00:17:06,500 --> 00:17:10,000
that played sports at 
Burley High School.

353
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:15,000
It could be football, 
basketball, or baseball.

354
00:17:16,166 --> 00:17:18,533
Our first goal, when 
we formed a club,

355
00:17:18,533 --> 00:17:23,533
was to have a cookout and 
reunite the athletes of Burley.

356
00:17:24,966 --> 00:17:29,766
And then our next project was 
to have a trophy case built,

357
00:17:31,233 --> 00:17:33,833
so that's what we did.

358
00:17:33,833 --> 00:17:36,033
We think Burley is 
really important

359
00:17:36,033 --> 00:17:39,900
because it's the second 
black high school

360
00:17:39,900 --> 00:17:42,100
in the city of Charlottesville,

361
00:17:42,100 --> 00:17:46,900
and they felt that they 
were going to eventually

362
00:17:46,900 --> 00:17:50,733
have to desegregate schools.

363
00:17:50,733 --> 00:17:54,200
And they wanted to, I guess,

364
00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:57,300
try to head that off 
with a new school.

365
00:17:57,300 --> 00:18:01,933
We had a young lady, she's 
a friend of ours now,

366
00:18:01,933 --> 00:18:04,233
Olivia Ferguson McQueen,

367
00:18:04,233 --> 00:18:07,600
she was one of the, 
if not the first,

368
00:18:08,900 --> 00:18:13,266
that was supposed to 
desegregate Lane High School.

369
00:18:13,266 --> 00:18:15,833
The governor closed 
the schools up

370
00:18:15,833 --> 00:18:18,166
rather than to 
integrate the schools

371
00:18:18,166 --> 00:18:23,133
until the court case was 
finally decided and won.

372
00:18:24,766 --> 00:18:29,000
The judge here said he 
feared for her life,

373
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,433
and he would not let 
her go into Lane,

374
00:18:32,433 --> 00:18:35,600
and he would not let 
her go back to Burley.

375
00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:39,200
She went to school in the 
superintendent's office.

376
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:40,933
And when she graduated,

377
00:18:40,933 --> 00:18:44,066
she never did get a 
high school diploma.

378
00:18:44,066 --> 00:18:45,533
She got a piece of paper

379
00:18:45,533 --> 00:18:49,233
saying that she had 
completed her work.

380
00:18:49,233 --> 00:18:54,233
In 2013 our club held a 
graduation exercise for her

381
00:18:56,966 --> 00:18:59,600
where she got her 
official diploma

382
00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:03,233
after she was supposed 
to graduate in 1959,

383
00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:06,733
but she got her 
graduation diploma

384
00:19:06,733 --> 00:19:09,866
over in our 
auditorium at Burley.

385
00:19:09,866 --> 00:19:14,800
Young kids don't realize 
what she paid the price to do

386
00:19:16,466 --> 00:19:18,900
for them to go to school today.

387
00:19:18,900 --> 00:19:22,733
In September of 2018,

388
00:19:22,733 --> 00:19:26,166
I started a petition 
to the school board

389
00:19:26,166 --> 00:19:29,533
for making Burley a 
historical landmark.

390
00:19:29,533 --> 00:19:34,533
It took probably almost two 
years from start to finish.

391
00:19:35,966 --> 00:19:40,000
We want younger kids to 
know what Burley was like,

392
00:19:40,733 --> 00:19:42,433
we want them to know

393
00:19:42,433 --> 00:19:46,900
that Burley was a great 
place to go to school.

394
00:19:46,900 --> 00:19:51,900
Somebody has to do it, if it 
doesn't matter to somebody,

395
00:19:53,066 --> 00:19:57,366
it just will end up going away,

396
00:19:57,366 --> 00:20:02,366
it may end up getting torn 
down, just pushed to the side.

397
00:20:03,566 --> 00:20:06,266
And I hate to see Burley 
get pushed to the side.

398
00:20:06,266 --> 00:20:09,166
You can't just sit at home

399
00:20:09,166 --> 00:20:12,666
and think something's going 
to change, because it's not,

400
00:20:12,666 --> 00:20:16,866
you have to get out, you have 
to reach out, you have to try.

401
00:20:16,866 --> 00:20:18,833
That's the only way 
it's going to work.

402
00:20:20,166 --> 00:20:22,466
>>Visit the Burley 
Varsity Club Facebook page

403
00:20:22,466 --> 00:20:25,733
to keep up with updates 
on all of their projects.

404
00:20:25,733 --> 00:20:28,966
Karina Monroy describes 
herself as an artist,

405
00:20:28,966 --> 00:20:32,300
a community organizer, 
a daughter, a friend,

406
00:20:32,300 --> 00:20:35,866
a chicken raiser, and 
her grandmother's legacy.

407
00:20:35,866 --> 00:20:39,133
Drawing on her own life 
experiences to inform her work

408
00:20:39,133 --> 00:20:42,500
as the executive director 
of Creciendo Juntos,

409
00:20:42,500 --> 00:20:45,366
Karina is passionate 
about providing a platform

410
00:20:45,366 --> 00:20:48,533
for the voices and needs of 
the Latinx youth community

411
00:20:48,533 --> 00:20:50,466
through art, education,

412
00:20:50,466 --> 00:20:52,833
leadership development, 
and work groups.

413
00:20:54,300 --> 00:20:55,800
>>I'm first generation Mexican,

414
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:57,100
so I was born in the US,

415
00:20:57,100 --> 00:20:58,933
but my parents are 
both from Mexico.

416
00:20:58,933 --> 00:21:01,266
So I think a lot of 
the times growing up,

417
00:21:01,266 --> 00:21:06,266
I kinda felt this split between 
my culture and my identity.

418
00:21:07,133 --> 00:21:08,333
You know, I was growing up

419
00:21:08,333 --> 00:21:10,333
in a very Mexican 
traditional household,

420
00:21:10,333 --> 00:21:12,800
speaking Spanish 
fluently, all the times,

421
00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:16,233
eating the foods, 100% in this,

422
00:21:16,233 --> 00:21:19,633
immersed in this 
Mexican culture at home,

423
00:21:19,633 --> 00:21:20,900
but I was going to school

424
00:21:20,900 --> 00:21:23,133
and making friends 
in the US, right?

425
00:21:23,133 --> 00:21:25,666
And so I was experiencing 
this whole other life,

426
00:21:25,666 --> 00:21:27,033
this whole other world.

427
00:21:27,033 --> 00:21:28,566
And a lot of the times it felt

428
00:21:28,566 --> 00:21:32,633
like I couldn't really be 
fully myself in either or,

429
00:21:32,633 --> 00:21:36,400
and I think art making 
really became the way

430
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,266
in which I kind of asked 
myself these questions

431
00:21:39,266 --> 00:21:41,333
or worked through 
those feelings.

432
00:21:41,333 --> 00:21:45,366
Art became the tool to like, 
figure out what to embrace

433
00:21:45,366 --> 00:21:47,200
and what to, like, throw away.

434
00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:49,733
What did I wanna take away 
from both of these cultures

435
00:21:49,733 --> 00:21:51,733
and kind of make my own path?

436
00:21:51,733 --> 00:21:53,333
A lot of the work 
that we're even doing

437
00:21:53,333 --> 00:21:55,966
within Creciendo Juntos 
brings in that culture,

438
00:21:55,966 --> 00:21:58,800
and that creativity and 
art making into life

439
00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:00,033
for some of these students,

440
00:22:00,033 --> 00:22:01,333
and I love exposing them

441
00:22:01,333 --> 00:22:03,233
to different artists of 
different backgrounds

442
00:22:03,233 --> 00:22:04,700
and different upbringings

443
00:22:04,700 --> 00:22:07,233
to kinda just give that 
like spark and inspiration,

444
00:22:07,233 --> 00:22:10,000
because I know for me, 
if it wasn't for art,

445
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,400
I don't think I would 
have graduated high school

446
00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,933
or even gone to college and 
done so well in college.

447
00:22:15,933 --> 00:22:20,933
I was, you know, a young 
Latina in a very white school,

448
00:22:22,366 --> 00:22:24,633
and there was a time in 
school when I was failing,

449
00:22:24,633 --> 00:22:26,233
like, I was completely failing,

450
00:22:26,233 --> 00:22:28,900
I was gonna not 
graduate high school.

451
00:22:28,900 --> 00:22:30,966
I look back and I 
think about how,

452
00:22:30,966 --> 00:22:34,833
not once did a teacher 
ever pull me aside

453
00:22:34,833 --> 00:22:37,000
and ask, you know, 
"Hey, what's going on?

454
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:41,200
Why are you not passing, 
why are you not succeeding?"

455
00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:43,000
And I think that a 
large part of that

456
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,833
has to do with this 
expectation or this, you know,

457
00:22:47,833 --> 00:22:52,400
or low expectations set 
for Latinos in our school.

458
00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,033
And so I look back, 
and I think about like,

459
00:22:55,033 --> 00:22:58,400
imagine someone 
actually reaching out

460
00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:00,800
and being, you know, there's 
something going on here,

461
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:05,100
why aren't you succeeding 
like the rest of your peers?

462
00:23:05,100 --> 00:23:07,133
Our services at Creciendo Juntos

463
00:23:07,133 --> 00:23:10,600
are all Latinx, 
youth-focused programs

464
00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:13,066
and it's all about 
cultivating leadership

465
00:23:13,066 --> 00:23:17,133
and cultivating community within 
the Latinx community here.

466
00:23:17,133 --> 00:23:18,766
The purpose of these programs

467
00:23:18,766 --> 00:23:20,466
are really just 
to provide a space

468
00:23:20,466 --> 00:23:25,100
for latinx youth to gather, 
connect, create together,

469
00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:28,900
learn from artists, from 
teachers, from poets,

470
00:23:28,900 --> 00:23:32,733
and kind of give them that 
space to flourish and grow.

471
00:23:32,733 --> 00:23:34,566
I'm just passionate 
about our youth

472
00:23:34,566 --> 00:23:36,733
and our students 
having all the options,

473
00:23:36,733 --> 00:23:39,733
and then being able to 
freely choose what they want.

474
00:23:39,733 --> 00:23:42,933
So we're not saying like, you 
know, "College is the only way

475
00:23:42,933 --> 00:23:44,333
and we're here to 
get you into college

476
00:23:44,333 --> 00:23:46,433
whether you like it 
or not," you know.

477
00:23:46,433 --> 00:23:48,466
We're here to say like, 
"If this is something

478
00:23:48,466 --> 00:23:51,266
that you might wanna do, like, 
let's figure it out together,

479
00:23:51,266 --> 00:23:52,766
and let's give you that option

480
00:23:52,766 --> 00:23:55,466
so you can feel empowered to 
choose that for yourself."

481
00:23:55,466 --> 00:23:56,900
I think that's why I'm 
so passionate about it,

482
00:23:56,900 --> 00:23:58,900
'cause I feel like, 
as a young person,

483
00:23:58,900 --> 00:24:01,200
I feel like a lot of options 
were taken away from me

484
00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:03,200
without me knowing it.

485
00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:04,466
One of the major gaps

486
00:24:04,466 --> 00:24:06,100
that keeps coming up 
over and over again

487
00:24:06,100 --> 00:24:08,633
is the lack of mental 
health services.

488
00:24:08,633 --> 00:24:11,066
One of the things that 
we've talked about a lot

489
00:24:11,066 --> 00:24:14,933
is how can we get mental health 
providers within the schools

490
00:24:14,933 --> 00:24:17,966
to help teens and students 
who are struggling

491
00:24:17,966 --> 00:24:19,933
with mental health issues.

492
00:24:19,933 --> 00:24:21,766
It all intersects,

493
00:24:21,766 --> 00:24:24,700
mental health is gonna 
affect a student's ability

494
00:24:24,700 --> 00:24:27,700
to believe in themselves and 
their ability to achieve.

495
00:24:27,700 --> 00:24:31,266
And it's really getting these 
kids together in a cohort

496
00:24:31,266 --> 00:24:33,700
and talking about some of 
these difficult barriers

497
00:24:33,700 --> 00:24:36,100
that the Latinx community face,

498
00:24:36,100 --> 00:24:39,566
and really breaking it down 
in a way that's accessible

499
00:24:39,566 --> 00:24:41,366
and easy to understand.

500
00:24:41,366 --> 00:24:43,900
For me, success 
looks like, you know,

501
00:24:43,900 --> 00:24:46,600
seeing our youth 
putting on initiatives

502
00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:48,766
beyond our 
organization, you know,

503
00:24:48,766 --> 00:24:50,833
I see them growing up

504
00:24:50,833 --> 00:24:52,866
and being the leaders 
of our community,

505
00:24:52,866 --> 00:24:56,000
and really investing their 
time back into the community.

506
00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:57,766
I think that a lot of the times

507
00:24:57,766 --> 00:25:00,233
when we're trying to make 
change within the community,

508
00:25:00,233 --> 00:25:03,933
we have to start from 
within, start with ourselves

509
00:25:03,933 --> 00:25:07,333
and question, you know, 
our own upbringings,

510
00:25:07,333 --> 00:25:11,800
our own privileges, 
our own faults.

511
00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,100
Look in the mirror, you 
know, in that sense,

512
00:25:14,100 --> 00:25:16,966
and kind of start working from 
there to be a changemaker,

513
00:25:16,966 --> 00:25:20,500
because I think that you really 
can't affect people's lives

514
00:25:20,500 --> 00:25:23,233
until you really feel secure

515
00:25:23,233 --> 00:25:26,033
and feel that you 
like radically,

516
00:25:26,033 --> 00:25:28,033
really love yourself 
as a person.

517
00:25:29,166 --> 00:25:31,500
>>To learn more about 
Creciendo Juntos,

518
00:25:31,500 --> 00:25:35,600
visit cj-network.org.

519
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,100
Thank you for joining us

520
00:25:37,100 --> 00:25:40,133
for this special episode of 
"Charlottesville Inside-Out."

521
00:25:40,133 --> 00:25:41,300
We hope you enjoyed hearing

522
00:25:41,300 --> 00:25:42,800
from just a few of the people

523
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:45,633
who are working to make a 
difference in our community.

524
00:25:45,633 --> 00:25:47,633
Thank you to our guests 
for taking the time

525
00:25:47,633 --> 00:25:49,800
to tell us a little 
about the work they do,

526
00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:51,600
and why they do it.

527
00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:54,733
We all have passions 
and life experiences.

528
00:25:54,733 --> 00:25:58,366
How might we see ourselves 
being the change?

529
00:26:00,300 --> 00:26:01,766
>>Production funding

530
00:26:01,766 --> 00:26:03,766
for "Charlottesville 
Inside-Out" is provided by.

531
00:26:03,766 --> 00:26:06,266
(light music)

532
00:26:18,100 --> 00:26:20,700
(gentle music)

533
00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,466
(words dinging)