Out of the Mouths of Babes

After completing the 2013 Soapbox Series, it was obvious that other people needed to hear the voice of our youth. What is the Soapbox Series? The six-week intensive Soapbox Speech series is a part of Mikva's Challenge, this portion focused solely on elevating youth voice. Youth from greater Cleveland, including youth from Slavic Village, the near West Side, and the City of East Cleveland, came together and worked hard to learn and to position themselves to be heard and heard effectively. During the workshops, youth learned various writing and speech techniques such as: rhetorical devices, constructive criticism, speech analysis, grammar and more. Both Donte Gibbs, Director of Youth Engagement at NLI, and Basheer Jones, one of Cleveland's most notable youth activists facilitated the sessions. The Cleveland State University Black Studies Department partnered with us to host the program, and as a result, our youth gained valuable exposure to University."