On Thursday evening a bunch of young policy makers filed into the YP4
conference room for some tacos and Jeopardy. Not that simple? Of course
not. Drum Major Institute hosted a meet and greet and it was great. A
couple of the '08 scholars were YP4 fellows. As usual, it was really
fun to see some "fellow fellows." It was equally rewarding to talk to
other DMI scholars about their experiences in the program and their
visions, and then telling them why they should allow YP4 to help them
through the fellowship program. Altogether, DMI put together a fun
session and we all learned a thing or two from all the Jeopardy
questions we answered!

This weekend I flew to Los Angeles, California. Too exhausted to be excited, I arrived at the LAX airport with heavy arms, sleep deprivation and open eyes. It would be the furthest west I’ve been since a trip to Dallas for a high school debate tournament. While I did not know what to expect from LA, I knew what to expect from the conference. I was attending CLEO’s Achieving Success in the Application Process (ASAP) Prelaw Seminars program for pre-law students.

Today during my daily commute to Newark, NJ, my mom and I listened to radio station WBAI's segment on the recent HIV/AIDS budget cut in the state of New York. Accompanying the discussion were two positively diagnosed HIV/AIDS community activists to share their stories and answer questions.

Last Friday, I was fortunate enough to attend Roosevelt Institute’s Policy Expo
in Washington, DC. There convened about 150 students and young leaders from as far as California to take in all that Roosevelt had to offer us for the day, and Roosevelt offered us plenty! I will talk about the parts of the expo that I was most immersed in and enjoyed.

So the Young Communist League has this awesome song on their website dedicated to the movement surrounding Barack Obama...

The song titled "Will of the People" was created by artists/members of the Philly Club of Young Communist League.

...this is a change I could get used to.

So, I came across this blog post on Obama's comemorative doll and I just wanted to share this with the YP4 community. I mean really, is this the best we can do for brown dolls?

The doll just looks like another Sambo-rendition of black people and people of color.

I'm still trying to let it marinate.

Hey YP4,

For the hip-hop activists, fans, and groupies (jk): there are two major hip hop events going on this summer. I found out a few days ago so I'm just spreading the word.

1. National Hip Hop Political Convention 2008, Las Vegas, Nevada

http://www.nhhpc.org/convention.html

August 1-3

So, I am working on my fluency in the Brazilian Portuguese Language, and being out of school for a few months, I'd really like to retain and improve my speaking abilities. Eu ja fui para o Brasil, e gostaria falar mais sobre o povo e a cultura. It's helpful to read and study, but nothing beats the speaking component.

I was looking for groups that may facilitate conversation groups when I remembered that YP4 has an entire network of diverse peoples who speak different languages and share different backgrounds. So if they're are any fellows out there that speaks the language, we could connect and discuss the work we do, our interests, or whatever--in Portuguese!

Cool.

~Amira

...and I need help!

Students who are first in their families to attend college are:

I don't know how to add a video clip but watch this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2iIaMofsEU&NR=1