Images of Us Sports
Providing a Unique, Educational, Cultural & Athletic Experience for Girls and Women.
Blog/News Article
On November 14, 2009, Images of Us (IOU) Sports invited area organizations to be a part of its gender responsive forum offering girls a safe place to be with other girls and focus on violence prevention, conflict resolution, self-esteem, and leadership. This one day event consisted of breakout sessions and a luncheon with keynote speaker Judge Valerie Hill.
Breakout Sessions:
Peer to Peer Mediation – Marquette University: Center for Peacemaking / Law School College of Education
Media and Violence - Dominque Howse, Youth Services Specialist/Urban Studies Instructor at Project Excel
Protect Yourself B4U Wreck Yourself of Wisconsin – JoCasta "Joey" Zamarripa, Community Outreach Coordinator Planned Parenthood
Hip Hop Learn and Perform – ReMix Dance Company
(Watch the video of Drop it Like it's Hot! from forum)
Images of Us Sports brought together a group of girls ages 13 - 18 which included high risk teenage girls to talk about violence and sex through a concept that most teens can relate to—popular culture. The video clip posted here says it all. You may recognize the tune “Drop It Like it’s Hot”--the 2004 rap number-one hit single by Snoop Dogg. Now if you know what the phrase Drop It Like It’s Hot symbolizes, you will understand the irony behind hosting a violence prevention forum by the same name. The idea here was to bring fun into an otherwise dreary topic and to bring about behavioral and attitudinal change that sticks. Bernell Hooker, founder of IOU Sports, wants to empower these girls and she knows that almost all of them are voracious consumers of popular culture. But what do they see when they turn on the television or watch the Drop it Like it’s Hot video? They see vulgarity, guns and violence, and plenty of profanity. More often than not, they see role models who are not worth emulating.
Dominique Howse, a journalist who got her start covering hip hop stars like Kanye West, hosted a session at the forum on media and violence. Through her tale of growing up in the southside of Milwaukee and then hanging out at hip hop parties attended by Mary J Blige and Kanye West, she was able to talk about negative stereotypes in popular culture. She said, “Think of positive images that motivate. You and you alone can make what you see. What you see and what you become does not have to come from BET [Black Entertainment Television].”
JoCasta Zamarripa, community outreach coordinator for Planned Parenthood Wisconsin, delved into hard facts on the value of abstinence, the different kinds of sex, and explained how safe sex does not have to be "boring." A group from the Center for Peacemaking at Marquette University demonstrated through hands-on exercises ways to resolve conflicts and ways to keep from fighting. This peer to peer group at Marquette works with high school students to reduce the number of suspensions that result from fighting. Surprisingly this group found that relatively more fights occur between girls than between boys.
Who would have thought that you can actually bring together 35 multiracial teenagers from various schools in Milwaukee on a Saturday morning to a talk about violence prevention--and that they would have fun while they were doing this?
A special thank you goes out to Jaquline Billings for her empowering talk on not becoming a follower. Thank you to Images of Us Sports grant partner the Women's Fund of Greater Milwaukee, lead sponsor Alverno College, and Images of Us Sports, for its work in bringing about social change through women and girls.
Here is the list of organizations that "Dropped it Like it was Hot :
St. Charles Youth and Family Services
Coalition of Black Trade Unionist
The Parenting Network
Servent Manor
Council for the Spanish Speaking - Loyola Academy High School
Heart Love Place - Purple Rose
Neighborhood House
It is from this place of self-worth and empowerment that we can look at the world as a place where we can freely express who we are and surround ourselves with people who honor love and respect us as we honor, love and respect ourselves.
By honoring yourself and treating yourself with respect, you set the stage up for others to treat you with respect.
Comments
Post new comment