about us
Action Youth Media was founded as Gandhi Brigade by Richard Jaeggi in 2005 as a way to foster youth perspectives. Teachers including Richard began holding workshops in the Christ Congregational Church in Silver Spring. Richard led the organization until he passed away suddenly in May 2014.
We offer free after-school and summer media content classes for teenagers in Silver Spring, MD. Classes are centered around amplifying the voices of the youth. In addition, we organize various arts outreach events that showcase the talents of our gifted students. We provide a safe and inclusive space, where Middle and High School students can find their unique voices and gain self-confidence as they learn media arts together.
Our Vision: We envision young people shaping communities where everyone values and respects one another, and where everyone has opportunities to express themselves using media arts.
Our Mission: To create communities where young people build confidence using media skills to express themselves and to promote community building, multi-cultural understanding, and the common good.
Our Social Justice Values
Our films and programs follow these priorities
Young leadership: Making space for youth voices, listening to youth voices, lifting up youth voices, & promoting young leaders.
Community: Coming together, sharing stories, listening to others’ stories, and healing and growing together.
Healthy Earth, Healthy Humans: Reviving and protecting our natural world, urban green space, & healthy lifestyles.
Visual, Performing, and Media Arts: Powering youth to express their experiences and to build empathy.
Social Justice:
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Valuing and protecting Black lives: ending white supremacy and anti-Black racism in our society’s public and private structures.
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Valuing and protecting non-Black and indigenous people of color.
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Achieving and protecting Immigrant and refugee rights
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Helping families regardless of their legal status.
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Ending generations of dehumanizing immigrants and refugees
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Achieving and protecting LGBTQ+ rights including access to healthcare
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Achieving and protecting women’s rights including women’s access to healthcare.
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Achieving and protecting rights of all regardless of physical or mental ability.
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Fighting anti-disabled policies.
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Acknowledging that we do not know what we do not know. Always learning.
Fighting for Justice
From the horror of a nation witnessing the execution of an unarmed Black man by police and the use of tear gas and armed military to disperse unarmed civilians, to the throngs of peaceful demonstrators across the US risking their health to demand systemic change and racial justice, the fissures in our society have been laid bare, yet again.
Anguish and exhaustion remain visible on the faces of our Black family members, friends, and communities. Despite the centuries of trauma and oppression, we also witnessed individual and collective strength, an unwillingness to be silenced, and passionate civic engagement. We have seen multimedia pieces produced and published in real-time to promote immediate safety and sustained change.
The Action Youth Media Board of Trustees supports our Black families, parents, spouses, siblings, friends, neighbors, teachers, colleagues, fellow Board Members, volunteers, and leaders' right to be safe and feel safe everywhere. As individuals, we on the Action Youth Media Board have different lived experiences, and we stand together in condemnation of racism that persists in the United States, including the myriad public policies that support racism. And we must do more.
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Over the coming months, you will hear more from the Action Youth Media Board. You will also hear from the young people in our programs, as they build their confidence and media skills to promote community building, multicultural understanding, and the common good.
We will not stop until racial justice is achieved.
Stay safe, stay strong, and stay engaged.
Sincerely,
The Action Youth Media Board of Trustees:
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Our Commitment
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Ensure our classes are a safe, welcoming place for Black children, teens, and young adults to learn, discover, create, and make new friends.
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Build a Board of Directors that is inclusive and diverse.
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Make sure that Black voices are heard and honored in our meetings, communications, and programs.
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Support students in middle and high schools, working together to fight racism and racist policies through their school newspapers, social media, and media and fine arts.
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Expose the racism in Montgomery County and beyond through our documentaries and campaigns.
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Take a stand explicitly against racism through our choices of projects, partners, locations, reading materials, guest speakers, films, and programming.
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Ensure our programs and curricula teach racial equity and fighting racism.
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Release ten short films produced by young adults on racial equity, for Montgomery County Public Television channels this summer of 2020.
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Acknowledge the racism-related trauma experienced by our youth and provide free mental wellness programming, starting with our Summer 2020 virtual support groups.
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From the
Board of Trustees
Rent OUR studio space
Record, film, host meetings or viewings, and more. Click here for details and to request to book.
JOBS
Jobs Available at Action Youth Media
To apply, send a resume and short email message to our Interim Executive Director, Lynn Hughes at executive@youthmediamd.org
Teaching Artist
Apply to join the roster of filmmakers and artists teaching weekly classes in Summer, Fall, and Spring. Classes are offered after-school (and more during the summer) and on Saturdays, typically lasting 1.5 - 2 hours each. Compensation is provided on a flat fee basis.
Interviewees and Talents on Camera
Apply or offer to be an interviewee or on-screen talent for a student film at Action Youth Media. Engagements are typically one hour and are compensated a flat fee of $100. Submit a resume to be considered.
Editors
Apply to be on the editor roster for Action Youth Media's student films. This job is per project and includes both editing footage and mentoring students. Compensation is on flat fee basis and work is primarily on location at Action Youth Media.