Welcome to the class blog! The John Jay - Vera Fellows Program is a collaborative effort between John Jay College and the spin-off agencies of the Vera Institute of Justice, combining an internship and participation in a seminar taught by faculty from John Jay's Interdisciplinary Studies Program. (To see a video about the John Jay - Vera Fellows Program, click here.) Part of the seminar experience is weekly participation in the class blog, which keeps the conversation going from week to week and will be a place for you to share your thoughts and concerns about the materials discussed in seminar as well as the internship experience. The opinions expressed on this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of the Vera Institute of Justice or its spin-off organizations. While the blog is open to the public and anyone, theoretically, can comment, only class members and invited guests will be able to post. You can also look for us on our student and alumni page on Facebook.
Each student has been assigned one week to write the "post." Please post within 24 hours after class. Every week, each student must comment on the post (feel free to comment more than once). Please comment by Monday afternoon to allow time for further questions and responses and so that we can read all the entries before class.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Be the Change- Act Locally

Students!  Ena is an inspiring example of someone making a difference in her own community.  We talk a lot about systemic change.  What about being the change we talk about?  The Black Panther movement started as a local movement in Oakland in response to distrust in the police.  The idea was- If the police don't keep us safe we need to keep ourselves safe.  A reincarnation of the Black Panther movement today may be a viable response to Eric Garner.

How do community gardens and other grassroots efforts promote social justice?  What is one thing that you could do in YOUR community to promote social justice?