TEDxPhilly - Nijmie Dzurinko - Challenging negative perceptions of young people
Nish Mesa Rinku, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Student Union, argues that young people's perceived failings are often manifestations of systemic oppression. He demonstrates this by citing the history of the "school to prison pipeline," the "kids for cash" scandal, and the structural issue of adult policies like the Philadelphia high school's late room policy. The central directive is for the audience to recognize oppression and commit to "young people's liberation."
## Speakers & Context
- **Nish Mesa Rinku** — Executive Director of the Philadelphia Student Union.
- Gave presentation on behalf of the organization, addressing the audience in Center City.
- The presentation followed a panel presentation by one of the organization's young people at the US Human Rights Fund.
- The speaker grew up in a small town in western Pennsylvania, not a city.
## Theses & Positions
- The perceived negatives of young people (apathetic, violent, lazy, incapable of critical thinking) should be analyzed as *manifestations of young people's oppression*.
- Recognizing that young people are an oppressed group is the pathway to *young people's liberation*, which in turn liberates the school system, city, and country.
- Failure to champion this liberation risks "colluding with forces that see Philadelphia's young people as surplus humanity with no place in our society."
- Overcoming oppression requires recognizing and acting upon both the external and *internalized* aspects of it.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Oppression:** Defined as "the systematic mistreatment of a group of people based on who they are by another group or by the society as a whole."
- **Internalization of oppression:** The process of absorbing systemic mistreatment until it affects one's self-perception.
- **School to Prison Pipeline:** The process where state prison beds are estimated based on third-grade reading scores, indicating systemic over-incarceration.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Identifying Oppression:** Requires exploring one's own perspectives and developing frameworks for understanding reality.
- **Action for Liberation:** Involves young people coming together to:
1. Break down barriers.
2. Identify issues.
3. Take concrete action.
*Examples of action:* Designing and implementing Student Success centers; creating campaigns for non-violent schools in Philadelphia; getting Congress to create a national youth caucus.
- **Dejavu:** Used as an example of a common experience that, when given language (the term *dejavu*), can be understood and contextualized, illustrating the power of language to frame experience.
## Timeline & Sequence
- Speaker's early life: Started thinking about his present circumstances at the age of **five** years old.
- Speaker's background: Raised by his grandparents in a small town in western Pennsylvania.
- Early childhood coping mechanism: Made a decision at the age of five to "externalize" the distress of his environment rather than internalize it.
- Historical context: Cited the *Trieste* (implied by the juxtaposition of historical exploration efforts, though not directly related to the primary argument).
## Named Entities
- **Philadelphia Student Union** — Organization represented by the speaker.
- **Center City** — Geographic location where the speaker was giving the talk.
- **Philadelphia** — Location of the local student activism efforts.
- **Overbrook High School** — High school attended by the speaker's former member, Marquita Hudgens.
- **US Human Rights Fund** — Location where a PSU member was presenting.
## Numbers & Data
- Age the speaker began analyzing his situation: **five** years old.
- Financial data (Governor's investment): **six hundred and eighty five million dollars** of public tax dollars into prison expansion.
- Financial data (Education cuts): **one billion dollars** cut from education statewide.
- Income metric: Luzerne County has per capita income of **less than twenty thousand dollars a year**.
- Percentage of population in Luzerne County: **ninety five percent** of the population is white (between 2003 and 2008).
## Examples & Cases
- **Late Room Policy (Philadelphia High School):** Students who were late had to stand inside a box taped to the floor; stepping outside resulted in immediate suspension (described as a situation of *corporal punishment*).
- **Curfew Policy:** Described as *collective punishment*, penalizing the many based on the actions of a few.
- **Luzerne County Scandal ("Kids for Cash"):** Judges accepted **$2.9 million** in kickbacks from developers/owners of two private for-profit juvenile facilities in exchange for placing young people in those facilities through the juvenile court process.
- **Student Success Centers:** Example of a tangible solution designed by students to envision a non-violent school.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Video footage on a phone:** Used by a PSU member to document and expose the late room policy.
- **Congress:** Entity targeted for creating a national youth caucus.
## References Cited
- *Dejavu* — The term used by Marquita Hudgens to put language to an experience of pre-cognition/déjà vu.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Investment Focus:** The current system favors "school to Prison" over "education," exemplified by the Governor's funding choices.
- **Action vs. Status Quo:** Proposes moving from simply identifying problems to actively implementing solutions (e.g., non-violent schools).
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The speaker notes that while many care about young people, there is an unstated need to *decide on a perspective* to move forward.
- The speaker acknowledges that systemic improvement is difficult, noting that political leaders "want" certain outcomes, but action must be self-generated.
## Methodology
- **Experiential Learning/Participation:** Starting the talk with an interactive "Stand up, sit down" activity to gauge audience demographics and shared experience.
- **Advocacy Documentation:** Using documented cases (late room tapes, scandal reports) to prove systemic failures.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Recognize the systemic nature of oppression impacting youth.
- Commit to *young people's liberation* as a collective goal.
- Action must involve collective effort: working together to break down barriers and implement tangible, localized solutions.
## Implications & Consequences
- The continuation of systemic oppression renders young people visible only as "surplus humanity" to society.
- If the cycle continues, the problem isn't just the city; it is rooted in systemic devaluation of youth potential.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"young people are a cause of social problems"* (statement that triggers the activity).
- *"you are good"* (the message from the uncle).
- *"I made a decision at the age of five to externalize that instead of internalize it."*
- *"You are good. One of the most important messages for a young person to get is you are good"* (repeated core message).
- *"a warming climate or a failing economy or the fact that as a recent college graduate I may never get hired"* (paraphrased list of anxieties, used for demonstration).
- *"The way I've seen this play out in my work in one of our comprehensive neighbourhood high schools... it was a situation essentially of corporal punishment."*
- *"This is what we call the school to Prison Pipeline"* (defining phrase).
- *"I challenge you to think about this today that that is what people want that's maybe what our political leaders want that is not always the case."*
- *"I think that's what I would like to leave you with as well"* (concluding sentiment).