BOSTON/Beacon Hill – Over a thousand young people from some of the state’s most distressed urban communities converged on downtown Boston Thursday to highlight youth unemployment and press for state funding of youth jobs programs.
Organized by the Youth Jobs Coalition, a statewide alliance of some 60 youth and community groups, the day-long action began with a spirited rally at Tremont Temple Baptist Church, including hip hop and spoken word poetry, and ended at the Massachusetts Statehouse, where teen activists lobbied state representatives face to face.
The day-long event pulled in young organizers and supporters – overwhelmingly high school teenagers of color – from Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Chelsea, Lynn, Lowell, New Bedford, Somerville and Worcester.
The coalition wants state legislators to approve a $9 million supplemental budget proposal to fund youth jobs this summer. Organizers also hope to increase funding for next year, adding $3 million for school-year youth jobs and $5 million for the statewide “school-to-career” program, which places students in private sector jobs.
At Tremont Temple Baptist Church, young speakers took the podium to praise the jobs programs, which pay the salaries of teens placed in nonprofit or government agencies. The programs not only develop jobs skills, they said, but also provide kids with needed income and an alternative to the streets.
“Who is willing to save these children before they start using their guns?” said a young spoken-word performer who gave his name as Eric. “We want to send a clear message to our elected officials that young people need and deserve jobs.”
Susan Le, a 17-year-old Lowell High School student who attended the rally, said she used earnings from her state-funded summer job last year to help her family pay bills. “The money from the state helps out a lot,” she said. “Especially in our city.”
Organizers also voiced criticism of private companies that don’t participate in the jobs programs. According to the coalition, just 14 percent of companies in Boston having more than 100 employees hire young workers.
After brief appearances and remarks by public officials and corporate sponsors – including Rep. Marty Walsh of Dorchester and Boston City Councilor At-Large Felix G. Arroyo – the youth activists split off into three contingents of several hundred people each. One group marched to Boston City Hall, and another marched past the State Transportation Building to protest proposed MBTA service cuts and fare hikes.
A third contingent headed for the financial district, where, a few hours earlier, about 30 teens had attempted to deliver mock resumes to Fidelity Investments’ Congress Street offices in order to dramatize the youth unemployment crisis. The activists said they were promptly kicked out of the building.
The three marches converged in Downtown Crossing for another super-charged rally before surging up Winter Street to the Massachusetts Statehouse, chanting, “I believe that we will win!”
The teenage activists next took turns entering the Statehouse to personally lobby state representatives, while several hundred demonstrators rallied outside.
Sixteen-year-old student leader Nicole Williams of Fields Corner, Dorchester reported that anywhere from 50 to 100 students managed to meet with legislators on Thursday. For Williams, the action was about social justice and empowering other young people. “I’m not fighting for me,” she said. “I’m fighting for all the youth who can’t fight and who don’t have a voice to fight.”
The recession has taken a severe toll on youth employment. Just 39 percent of Massachusetts teens aged 16 to 19 found jobs last summer, down from 62 percent in 2000, according to Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University.
Organizers said that bringing teenage activists face-to-face with legislators is critical for ensuring funding for youth jobs programs, which are at risk of budget cuts just when they’re most needed.
“We’re looking at the lowest youth employment rates in 50 years,” said Seth Kirshenbaum, co-executive director of The City School, a center for youth leadership development in Dorchester. “A lot of the jobs paying minimum wage are now being filled by adults.”
A report prepared for the Boston City Council in 2006 found an inverse correlation between funding levels for summer youth jobs and the number of shootings in Boston.
The day-long action was spearheaded by Teen Empowerment and the Massachusetts Communities Action Network, based in Roxbury and Dorchester, respectively, which work with young people throughout Greater Boston and other Massachusetts cities.
Key organizers also included Bird Street Community Center, Bowdoin Street Health Center, The City School, Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Project Hip Hop, and the Roxbury Environmental Empowerment Project.