On July 20-26, Highlander will hold its ninth annual Seeds of Fire Youth Leadership Camp, a week-long training program for youth activists age 13-18 and their adult allies.
This year’s camp will focus on education and juvenile justice issues. It will include information on the history of the education and juvenile justice systems, alternatives to these systems, and tools and strategies for stopping the cradle-to-prison pipeline, including training for nonviolent direct action. Highlander will provide follow up support to plans developed at the camp.
Education and justice issues had been an important part of previous Seeds of Fire camps, and we are currently working with statewide networks and coalitions addressing these issues in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, and helping build new networks and coalitions in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The 2008 camp will enable us to bring together some of the key groups involved in these efforts for a week of intensive analysis, information sharing, mutual education, and networking. It will be co-sponsored by the Community Justice Network for Youth and The Gathering for Justice.
Over 150 young people and adults have participated in the eight previous Seeds of Fire camps and are now providing strengthened leadership in their communities. We look forward to telling you more about this year’s camp in the coming months.
You can read more about Seeds of Fire here.