snapshots: A unique look at East Harlem through the eyes of its

youth

SCAN JOHNSON COMMUNITY CENTER 1839 Lexington Avenue.

WELCOME TO

Day 1Meet and Greet: What to expect…?

Snapshots

We got a good sized group of enthusiastic students on the first day.

By day 2, we had a smaller, tight-knit group dedicated to exploring the dimensions of ‘home’.

We met for 6 Weeks...

…and the students took pictures…

…and then we talked about the pictures.

PHOTO-TALES OF ‘HOME’We invite you to meet the students and listen to their

We were thankful that they shared their stories with us, and now WE (they and us) would like to share with all of you.

Meet Daleton!

“the statue in front of my building…”

“could represent a lot of things…it could mean hope to somebody, to somebody else it might mean playing together or being united. It could also mean, there’s a boy and there’s a girl, so it could mean being together. How far we’ve come from segregation and sexism…”

“in the Bible I think it says…there’s always light in darkness…”

“…the light in the dark…”

“…and a lot of people say darkness mean evil, and light could be savior or smarts, or being able to be good-hearted. It could also mean will, will power, or anything…I’m going to have this kind of light….”

“if it wasn’t for the train I wouldn’t be able to get to some places I call home…the train station is like a home beneath your feet that helps you get to other homes”

“…the train is a big part of my home…”

“…where I’ve grew up for 15 years”

“I’ve had a lot of experiences here…I also want to move away from it [but]…it will always mean something to me with these numbers…1581.”

“the playground where I used to go…”

“…that I still go to now…”

The cover of Catching Fire, the second book of the Hunger Games Series

Daleton’s Classroom

Meet Ty!

“…I know if anything they’ll protect me…”

“Home is in my youth..”

“Home is where I feel safe so I guess I felt more safe when I was younger…I didn’t really have things to worry about but like …[I] have more responsibilities…I’m actually smiling in that picture, kind of a real smile…”

“…protection all around me…”

“…its people that know me well enough to be there for me…a safe

and comfortable environment and no

one judges me…”

“…home is in the journey…”

“..where ever my feet take me is my home because I know where ever I go is

going to be a safe environment and a safe place I feel protected.”

“…home is in my fight…”

“whether I fight for my rights, for freedom, for

anything...my home basically is in my fight to wherever I need to go…for me, my fight would be showing

everybody that I’m not who they think I am…

but that’s my fight now…when I get to

college its going to be a whole other fight…”

“…this is a complicated story..…”

“…this picture doesn’t technically mean home for me now, but home for me in the future…where I will be years from now with the

money she helped me get.”

Meet Ron!

“don’t let things get the best of you…”

”…always have a hobby that helps you calm down”

“Who doesn’t like food???”

The best teacher I ever had…she teaches me about math , but also life experiences”

For our final project, we displayed our photos on a bulletin board in the lobby

of Ty and Daleton’s schools.

Our Finished Product.

Comfort

ProtectionFamily

Heart Friends

Safety

Thanks for watching!