Dear Year Up,

Before we head into the Thanksgiving holiday, we want to take the time to acknowledge that last week was Transgender Awareness Week (11/13-11/19) and that this past Friday (11/20) was Transgender Day of Remembrance. Although the official week and day have passed, we believe that every day is an opportunity to build understanding and awareness and stand in solidarity with our Transgender community.

Transgender awareness week’s goal is to raise visibility about Transgender people and address issues that members of our Trans and Gender Expansive community face. Transgender Day of Remembrance honors Transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of violence that year. We honor Rita Hester’s memory. She was murdered in Boston in 1998, her murder is still unsolved, and her death ignited vigils that prompted the first Transgender Day of Remembrance in 1999. Violence against Trans and Gender Diverse people is a global epidemic. In 2020, more violence against Trans people has been recorded than ever before. In the United States, the majority of Trans people who were murdered were Black and Brown, a stacking of intersectional oppressions and violence.

We want the violence to stop and know that raising awareness of the multiple systemic injustices that our Trans community faces is the first step toward change. We have to require a society (present and future) where the lives of Transgender and Gender Diverse people are honored, valued, and respected. Therefore, we foster spaces at Year Up, where our Trans and Gender Diverse young adults are not only welcome but can thrive. MLK Jr. reminds us that: “None of us is free until we are all free.”

We honor our Trans staff and young adults and appreciate you for all you contribute to Year Up. We encourage you to take time to say the names and honor the memories of those who were taken from us in 2020, whose names are included below.

Potential Links

• https://transequality.org/blog/murders-of-transgender-people-in-2020-surpasses-total-for-last-year-in-just-seven-months

• https://time.com/5914256/transgender-day-of-remembrance-2020/

Best,

Antoine & Megan

Hello Year Up,

We are looking forward to honoring and celebrating Juneteenth this Friday, June 19th, as a Day of Recognition for our Year Up community. This is the first time in our 20‐year history as an organization that we are pausing operations to give our students in L&D and all staff the opportunity to disconnect from work to connect with the meaning of this important day in our nation’s history.

We invite you to learn, participate, reflect & rejuvenate. Included hereis a set of curated resources about Juneteenth, antiracism, our American history, and ways to take action on Friday and throughout the weekend. Please leverage the resources that will be most helpful to supporting your learning goals and wherever you are in your current learning journey.

We also invite you to share what you learn and how you celebrate via Google’s Jamboard platform.

• Please add to this Jamboard: photos of your Juneteenth celebrations, sticky notes with themes that came up for you about your reflections and learning, images of quotes, people, or other visuals that connect to your Juneteenth experience, drawings using the sketch tools, or a Google doc of poetry, your reflections, etc. Please note: You don’t have to have a Google account to use the Jamboard, and only 50 people max can be in a Jamboard at the same time.

We are also providing messaging to Site and Regional Directors to share these resources with L&D students and interns today. We will encourage students and interns to learn about Juneteenth and engage with the learning materials. Depending on the corporate partner, many interns may still be working on Juneteenth, but we will guide them to use the day and weekend, in their own ways, to reflect and engage with Juneteenth learning.

Note on Timesheets: This day will remain as “hours worked” in your timecard. If your standard schedule is prepopulated in eTIME, no action needed. If you update and record your hours worked each day, please record the hours that you’d normally work on Friday, 6/19 to ensure you are paid per usual. If your site leadership has already provided guidance about how to code your timesheet because you already had planned action for Friday, June 19th, please defer to the timesheet guidance your site leadership provided.

Thank you to Marshaun Hymon for supporting us to curate these resources! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Wishing you a Happy Juneteenth,

Megan Doherty‐Baker & Antoine Andrews

Hi Year Up,

Starting at sunset on Thursday, April 23rd, and lasting until Saturday, May 23rd is the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. This year, the entire month may fall during social distancing restrictions across the nation. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm), prayer, reflection, and community. A commemoration of Muhammad’s first revelation, the annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam and lasts twenty‐nine to thirty days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next.

In this time, when hearing from others is crucial for Year Up’s community, we wanted to take an opportunity to elevate new voices from our network. We shared a conversation between a Year Up Greater Boston staff member, Aadil Sulaiman (AD of Employment Placement), and current Year Up student Zariah Boateng (YUGB Student – LC Believe). Aadil and Zariah had a brief conversation about Ramadan and what the holiday means to them, their families, and Muslims around the world, along with how COVID‐19 impacts the holy holiday.

What do Muslims do during the month of Ramadan?

A: Healthy Muslim adults fast (no food or water) from dawn until dusk. Usually, a meal is eaten before dawn (suhoor) and after dusk (iftar).

Z: My family fasts and goes to the masjid (Mosque) every day from iftar (around 8 pm) and stays until suhoor (5 am). We celebrate and spend time with family and friends for as many days of the week, as we can when we aren’t working.

A: On the last day of Ramadan (5/23), there is usually a big party for Eid al‐Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast) with friends and family.

How might this be different for students and colleagues during Covid‐19?

Z: People are disappointed because it’s meant to be a big celebration, and it really fills you up spiritually. I am still getting together with my family, who live in my house to pray every day. Some people in my house are still working in the evenings, but we celebrate with whoever is free each night.

A: It’s hard being at home, working all day, and having to avoid all my delicious food and snacks eyeing me from the kitchen. I don’t live with any Muslim family members or friends, so the community aspect feels a bit different. With everything going on in the world, I am trying to be kind to myself and may only fast for a smaller portion of the month. It’s customary for my family to give to charities if you aren’t fasting, and I will definitely be doing that during this month.

How can I be supportive of my Muslim students and colleagues this month?

Z: The first few days of fasting are tough (mood swings, headaches), but then things get back to normal. Be aware and supportive during this time.

A: Also, be understanding and aware as Muslim colleagues are observing Ramadan, which means feel free to say “Ramadan Mubarak” (Blessed Ramadan) or “Ramadan Kareem” (Have a generous Ramadan) any time between now and the last day (5/23). At the end of Ramadan, you should wish them “Eid Mubarak” (Blessed celebration) to celebrate Eid al‐Fitr.

Here’s an excellent article from CNN that we shared last year with more ways to be aware: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/ramadan‐non‐muslims‐etiquette‐guide/index.html

Best,

Antoine Andrews + Aadil Sulaiman

Hi Year Up, 

In March, we celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, on Sunday March 8. To celebrate the month, I plan to immerse myself in experiences that affirm me for all of who I am – an African American, bi-racial, woman, mother, professional, leader. This weekend, I will attend the second annual Black Girls Rock (BGR) fest at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., immersed in the intellectual, creative, supportive, powerful presence of Black women. This morning, I rode the Soul Cycle Black Girls Rock ride dj’ed by founder Beverly Bond, who started BGR as a t-shirt designed to recognize Black women whose historical contributions were not widely known.

The Women’s History Alliance selected “Valient Women of the Vote” as the 2020 theme. In describing the theme, the organization writes: “In recognition of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, we will honor women from the original suffrage movement as well as 20th and 21st century women who have continued the struggle (fighting against poll taxes, literacy tests, voter roll purges, and other more contemporary forms of voter suppression) to ensure voting rights for all.” The four inspiring living honorees are:  

• Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO, Voto Latino
• Terry Ao Minnis, Senior Director, Census and Voting Programs Asian Americans Advancing Justice
• Eleanor Holmes Norton, Civil Rights Leader, Congressperson, Lawyer and Organizer 
• Edith Mayo, Suffrage Historian, Women’s History Movement Activist known for ”her work in documenting African American suffragist history”. 

What I most appreciate about this theme is the acknowledgement that the fight for equal voting rights and by extension, justice and equality for all, persists to this day. The existence of Women’s History Month is acknowledgement that the study of past events must expand to correct for the absence and excluded stories of marginalized people. Also, the month is an inspiring reminder of the power of women to lead movements that change the world. 

Colleagues, let’s find ways to affirm, nurture and inspire ourselves and each other this month. 

Take care,

Ellen

Dear Year Up,

I hope this note finds you all well during graduation season. I wanted to write as we near Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day with some reflections on our collective service to Dr. King’s legacy. Each year for the past two decades, MLK Day has served as an opportunity for us to celebrate the progress we’ve made in building a more just and equitable society, and to look with clear eyes to where we still have work to do in eradicating the persisting challenges of racism, sexism, inequality, and injustice. Every year, the accomplishments of our graduates, our staff, and our community shows me that our work for social and economic justice is bringing about a better world.

What we have accomplished in the past twenty years is truly incredible. When I had the good fortune to start Year Up, I believed we could reach 10,000 young adults and help them launch into meaningful careers. To date, we have served more than 27,000 young adults, and the ripples of their success are turning into waves. Our graduates are earning advanced degrees, taking on senior roles in leading companies, making their voices heard at every level of government, and ensuring that they are lifting while they climb. I can’t help but think of our work as a direct continuation of the marches, the actions, and the moral vision of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

At the same time, our world continues to show us that our work is just as urgent and important as it was twenty years ago. The same systems that Dr. King saw and worked against – racism, poverty, and militarism – persist and evolve, and their manifestation in our society drives inequality and injustice. These can seem too big for us to take on, too foundational in our society to eliminate. But Dr. King believed strongly that we could become greater versions of ourselves. Today, I’m reminded of one of the best‐known passages from a Dr. King sermon: “Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” Our service to our mission is the work that will undo these systems, and build a better world for us all.

In that same sermon, Dr. King wrote: “You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve….You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” And today I am grateful to be surrounded by so many hearts full of grace, and so many souls generated by love. I hope you spend some time this Dr. King Day not only as a day of reflection but as a day to serve in your community.

Many thanks for all that you do in service to our young adults and be well,

Gerald