YEAH

Youth Empowered Advocating for Health

About

The YEAH curriculum guides youth through a process of identifying factors that influence health inequities in their community using photovoice, a participatory research methodology that uses photography to examine community concerns and generate ideas to address them, and translating those ideas into social action. Part 1 of the YEAH curriculum is dedicated to conducting a photovoice project to explore youth perspectives on inequities impacting them and their community. Guided by facilitators, youth generate photo assignments relevant to their topic of interest, take photos individually to represent their ideas, and then discuss the photos collectively through a structured, facilitated discussion technique, SHOWED to critically analyze their experiences, develop a deeper understanding of the issue, and promote social action. Part 2 of the YEAH curriculum supports youth to engage in advocacy starting with planning and hosting a community forum or theater arts performance to disseminate their photovoice findings, galvanize community support for their action priorities, and influence public perception, policy and program decisions, and resource allocation to improve social and environmental conditions in their communities.

Black History Knowledge

Our community partners in Kansas City share the importance of Black History Knowledge by highlighting the favorite places, moments in history and reflections that represent Positive Black History of Kansas City.

Photo gallery

“I went more so historically . . . historically, here, was a big slave trade, so they were a part of that. So, I used that as fear for when the Blacks were being sold off by other people. So that’s why I used this photo and took pictures of it. And that’s why there is red paint on it—to represent bloodshed from our ancestors.”

“This is who I am, and this is where I come from. And if my people can go through what they went through back then and... come out successful… then I'm unstoppable. Because if they can do all that then you can’t touch me!”

“So when I was there, I was looking around and like just like so many things there have been like adapted to different cultures and just pretty much like stolen. Like jazz, for instance, like and the museum and all that stuff. Like things I see there, it’s just like it’s been taken away and . . . the stories are being told different.”