As the country holds its breath — and stands in line at the polls — we're proud of the hard work our fellows have done to register voters and get out the vote.

Just a few examples:

This is the first in a series of posts that myself and other YP4 staff will write from the Leadership Academy retreat in West Cornwall, CT.

The 2008-2009 class met yesterday at Grand Central Station and we kicked off this four day training retreat last night. This class is nothing short of spectacular. We have people from all areas of the country with vastly different theories of change, all with roughly the same vision for the world. Among the group we have elected officials and candidates, ED's of organizations, community organizers, policy specialists, leadership development trainers, students, teachers and activists.

I started out in the progressive movement through the amazing fellowship of Young People For.   As part of the introductory class (2005) the camaraderie between the fellows as well as staff was high and genuine; never before had I experienced such a feeling of support and understanding around issues that were important to me.  Often times I ponder the opportunities given, the people I have had the pleasure of meeting, and the relationships developed because of my involvement with YP4.  During this time the thought which emerged was “where would my activism be?”   

Maya is the proud mother of Chado and twins Matthias and Kateri. She is also the founder of the Community Esteem Project in Anadarko, Oklahoma and a 2008 Young People For fellow at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

In this interview, she talks about the importance of community esteem, the power of traditions and how other YP4 fellows have inspired her.

Monique Gillum, student body president at Florida A&M University (and a 2005 YP4 fellow), was featured at 7:52 this morning on CNN's news mini-series Black in America.

You can see it yourself on their campus tour: www.cnn.com/blackinamerica

Go Monique!

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UPDATE (11:45am): The video doesn't seem to be live yet. When it is, you can find it most quickly here: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/black.in.america/hbcu/.

"Yeah, the fellowship sounds great! Here's my e-mail address... hold on a sec," he said, rummaging through his pockets. "Uh, I've got the back of this receipt. Do you have a pen?"

Hey Everyone,

Young People For was recently featured in Wiretap Magazine.

Check out the article here: http://www.wiretapmag.org/activism/43379

In Solidarity

Jason 

Hey guys I have like 4 albums worth of pictures from the summit. I'm gonna post the links. If you guys have some up...please post them:

http://howard.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069892&l=bfb12&id=8907295

http://howard.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069895&l=809f0&id=8907295

http://howard.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069897&l=c8f14&id=8907295

http://howard.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069904&l=af305&id=8907295

It is the third day of the 2008 National Summit and already my life and reflections on issues have changed tremendously. I am in awe of all of the talent, creativity, and ambition that my fellow FELLOWS have. This year is going to be exciting. I am thrilled to be apart of the DC team (shouts to Calvin). We're in the Nation's Capital...we're all the SH!T goes down and its going to be quite a movement if we work on a project together to impact this city. I am really passionate about the possiblity of that happening. I'm not sure about the blueprint yet, but I know its going to be something hot. (much love to my Wisconsin people....Red Knights, Biko!!!!)

Human rights leader, Van Jones, born during the civil rights movement opened the day with an inspiring speech. Jones is the co-founder and executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.