Green Guerrillas Youth Media Tech Collective

Mon, 03/21/2011 - 12:17

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In 2006, a group of youth - "sustainable storytellers who challenge the status quo" - created a digital media arts centre that embraces, encourages, and energises the voices of communities that are marginalised in mainstream media. Located in central New York in the United States (US), Green Guerrillas have formed a collective in order to make their own media by analysing social, political, economic, and environmental issues which affect their lives. Under the auspices of the Southern Tier Advocacy & Mitigation Project (S.T.A.M.P.), this grassroots job-training programme values teenagers' creative insights and capacities to transform their reality as leaders and participants for change.

Communication Strategies

This youth action group uses information and communication technology (ICT) and community mobilisation strategies in an effort to empower young people of colour who, according to the Collective, are stereotypically and disproportionately affected by criminal justice and environmental policies. They are fighting to empower marginalised youth and adults and to identify issues which adversely impact their lives and actively challenge institutional imbalances which threaten their futures. They study documentary and narrative filmmaking, make their own media - from posters to movies, do outreach at community events, advocate for equitable living and learning environments, travel to meet up with peers and share their work, and get their "hands dirty" learning about renewable energy.

For example, to speak out about these policies and problems, the Collective produces "Blockumentaries" which showcase stories of sustainability to challenge the status quo. For example, in the summer of 2007, the Collective presented "a year in review," highlighting "the latest in sustainable style, the community's response to racism in the Ithaca City Schools...and the modern impact of 500+ years of genocide and slavery on both sides of the prison wall in communities of color." And in April 2010, they embarked on a 3-year project with a veggie diesel bus to create their 4th feature film, "Green Guerrillas Blockumentary v.3 HD: Ganonyonk | Gye Nyame | Generation". The film showcases stories of sustainability from underrepresented communities in the current environmental movement.

The Green Grease Guzzlers 2010-2011 Biodiesel/Veggie Oil Bus Tour linked up with thousands of other activists at the US Social Forum June 22-26 2010 in Detroit, Michigan - hosting or participating in 5 workshops (Confluence: Eco-Justice Movement Building; Green For All! The Role of Arts and Culture to Build a Movement for an Inclusive Green Economy; Natural Gas... clean enough to drink?; COINTELPRO then and now; and Off Grid and Unplugged: Sustainable Lifestyle Choices & Renewable Resistance); premiering their latest film (Green Grease Guzzlers); and showcasing their solar-powered biodiesel/veggie oil bus on Hart Plaza as part of the cultural activities.

To cite another example of the kind of activism the Collective engages in, the group headed south to Memphis, Tennessee, for The Dream Reborn, a "green gathering to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and to present positive solutions for social and environmental equity from today's generation of visionary leaders of color." The Collective embarked on this journey with the goal to "learn, share, organize, and network with other community/youth groups from around the country who share our commitment to connecting the dots...as we continue to raise awareness throughout marginalized communities of renewable energy technologies, green building options, the impact of our carbon footprints, and the existence of eco-friendly businesses...[to] actively challenge and eliminate the low expectations imposed upon us by pollution and prisons.

Development Issues

Environment, Rights, Youth.