Fighting for #RacialEquity means reimagining justice, says racial justice campaigner and TEDxLondon speaker, Temi Mwale.
During her TEDxLondonWomen talk, she spoke about her work at The 4Front Project. We’re really excited to share the vital work her team is doing through transformative justice by spotlighting their #LifeAtThe4Front YouTube series.
Learn about their varied work in advocacy, youth support and campaigning, and peek behind the scenes to see how they undertake their transformative, creative and visionary work, how they got started, and what they find most rewarding about it.
The videos are only a couple of minutes each, so definitely have a watch. Here are some of our favourite and most thought-provoking quotes from their team:
#LifeAtThe4Front: Part One with Shanea, Kusai, Abz, Emmanuel & Andre
“I stepped into this work when I was 16 years old. Growing up in Newham I was impacted by a lot of the issues we as an organisation are actively trying to address. I also observed how my friends and peers were impacted by these issues as well, and loads of different types of violence, and I became passionate about serving some of the most marginalized and excluded young people.” -Shanea
“Seeing a young person being uncomfortable in a studio and then blossom into this energetic and lively person and exude their talents within their music.” -Abz
“[I enjoy] elevating the young people into structured employment opportunities and letting Jaheim’s legacy live on…To me, being in this line of work requires me to have hope for the future, requires me to want to create a better society.” -Kusai
“Challenging the status quo at the same time and actually creating a society in our eyes which is new, which reimagines what justice looks like.” -Emmanuel
“I wanted to work somewhere that aligned with my principles and values. Somewhere that centred humanity, justice, peace and freedom.” -Andre
#LifeAtThe4Front: Part two with Temi, Abshir, Maia & Chris
“I’m passionate about doing this work because I believe that young people deserve to thrive, and not just survive. I want to dismantle all of the systems that create barriers for young people in their lives and block them becoming the best version of themselves.” -Temi
“When you look at some of these young people, you just think ‘yo, this was me.’ When you look back and see ‘this one thing I done made this much change’ – you’re really proud of your work. ” -Abshir
“As a young person I attended youth clubs and I felt it helped me learn and grow, and learn things about life and work with different people, so I wanted to do the same thing and give back to other young people.” -Maia
“Having been in that situation myself, I feel like this is where the communication element of my work comes in. If I’m able to project that message that there is someone out there that can help you.” -Chris
#LifeAtThe4Front: Part three with Jamie, Zikko, Khalid & Tahmina
“Young people can mature and progress in their own special way. From writing or attitude and behavior, to just becoming a bit more open.” -Zikko
“Where there is injustice, there needs to be struggle and fight… It’s exciting to think about the future, and know at the heart of our work it’s about empowering young people, already seeing that happen, and then thinking forward to how much more 4Front can bring to their neighbourhood and society.” Jamie
“I just want to give back to my community. I see so much potential in a lot of the young members we work with. And I want them to know that.” -Khalid
“Being able to use comms as a tool to share young people’s voices and experiences.” -Tahmina
The 4Front Project is a member-led youth organisation empowering young people and communities to fight for justice, peace and freedom.
To keep up with what’s going on at The 4Front Project, check out their site, follow them on Instagram @4FrontProject, Youtube @THE4FRONTMEDIA, Twitter @4FrontProject and Facebook @The4FrontProject.
