In this unit my peers and I were given the opportunity to advocate for an organization that we believe in. When my classmate, DC, suggested that we work with Project Orange Tree, I jumped on board immediately. Ant-violence movements like Project Orange Tree in Chicago are such a necessity to the growth of this city. We are a city marred with violence, it’s written into our history. I was also so excited to work with this particular group because we all have such a wide range of skills. In this project I was in charge of editing footage and compiling it into a video. Please view our video below!
For our final action project in Policy, HM, GL, DC, JP, CA and myself worked together to prevent gun violence in Chicago through a youth-led organization called Project Orange Tree that affiliates itself closely with Lupe Fiasco’s foundation. Project Orange Tree is a campaign that wants to teach youth about gun violence and the roots of structural violence that perpetuate it. We got out on the streets and passed out buttons and flyers in neighborhoods around Chicago to help build awareness. In the end, we created a video with interviews that we conducted, footage of us around Chicago, a poem we wrote about gun violence, and other violence prevention efforts such as Cure Violence and the Chicago Police Department.