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The FREEdom School of Homies Empowerment

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The FREEdom School of Homies Empowerment

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Overview
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Homies Empowerment operated as a grassroots after-school program from 2009 until 2014. Then the program went on a hiatus for a few years as co-founder Cesar Cruz went to Harvard University to pursue his doctorate in 2013. The doctorate was centered on supporting youth on the margins. Dr. Cruz was able to do research for a year at Homeboy Industries and was able to write about Homies Empowerment. The Homies Empowerment group continued to gather for a year and then decided to pause programming. In 2014, 11 members of the organization flew to Harvard University to present their work at the Alumni of Color Leadership Conference.

In 2017, forty alumni from Homies Empowerment gathered to reconnect and to dream up a way to take the visions of Homies Empowerment to the next level. Young adults began to dream about how we create our own high school.

Out of that session came the development of the school design team which included Mercedes Flores-Casiano, Omar Escalante, Dr. G Reyes, Ventura Flores and Dr. Cesar Cruz. Then we were able to hire for the first time Rubi Pelayo and Nathalie Carvajal to join the design team. That team has been working extremely hard for the last two years on the design of the school. The team joined the Native Inspired Schools Network NISN) out of Albuquerque, NM. Dr. Cruz is the fellow and he is currently on payroll with NISN until June 2021 to develop the school.

The Freedom School of HOMIES Empowerment, based out of East Oakland, CA, exists to welcome home resilient youth impacted by systemic oppression . We do so with revolutionary love, wraparound holistic resources, and academic support as they further develop the scholar, warrior, healer and hustler within, towards individual and community emancipation and self-determination.

Scholar- Some young people have had interrupted school experiences as some have dropped out, others have been pushed out, and others have had constant change in school communities. Some youth have also been locked up, and that incarceration has impacted their schooling experience. We seek to help young people return to their scholarly self identity. A scholarly self identity is grounded in young people's Indigeneity. Students are deeply rooted in their culture and roots. They understand who they are, where they come from and what their people have been able to do academically. Students see themselves as scholars, as scientists, mathematicians, inventors and they see that they too can continue their education in college and beyond.

Warrior-Some young people have been raised to be street soldiers, and may be less aware of how to be a warrior or a civically engaged citizen participating in democracy. Our hope is to help young people identify their passions, know what they care about and the role that they can play to make the world a better place to live in. A warrior self identity means that young people see themselves as agents of social change. They understand the power of being civically engaged and they experience opportunities in the community to get involved in ways to make their society a better place to live in.

Healer-Some young people have been pathologized or told that they are merely sick or that they are crazy for having mental health challenges. We want young people to know that they all have a healer inside of themselves and the capability to take care of their thoughts, emotions, body and spirit. A healer self identity means that young people have the skills and mindset to care for themselves and see themselves interconnected with the well-being of others. This allows them to be empathetic, compassionate and to develop solidarity with other people.
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Hustler-Some young people have been introduced to an underground economy or to a street life where hustling is seen as a negative or only in a derogatory way. We would like to lift up the lessons learned from entrepreneurship and working hard to make a dream come true. A hustler self identity means that students see themselves as deeply resourceful, driven, and as social conscious entrepreneurs.
Our belief is that as students learn about, believe and channel the scholar, warrior, healer and hustler within, that they will be able to graduate from high school, stand up for their rights, take care of themselves physically and emotionally and be resourceful as they chart the next course for their life, their life's purpose.

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Overview ​ Homies Empowerment operated as a grassroots after-school program from 2009 until 2014. Then the program went on a hiatus for a few years as co-founder Cesar Cruz went to Harvard University to pursue his doctorate in 2013. The doctorate was centered on supporting youth on the margins.

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Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (Official Video 2019)

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https://youtu.be/NhaS4jvnUvo

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Photo taken by Katie Kolbrick at Nurturing Rooms Farm
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGshmgig3mk/

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Photo taken by Brooke Anderson Photography. Radical Monarchs

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Photo taken by Kapulei Flores at Mauna Kea on Kanaka Maoli lands https://www.400yearsproject.org/photographers/kapulei-flores