Young Antiracist Leadership Project (YALP)

Mentoring process

In the last 6 months, mentoring sessions were held to accompany projects for the 20 young anti-racist leaders of the first and second generation of YALP, some of these mentoring sessions are expected to culminate in the month of May 2023. In these mentoring sessions, the projects are being developed so that they can later be implemented. The projects range from exhibitions, field work, interviews, lectures, writing, and illustration. In the upcoming months, three of these projects will be ready to be launch: A photography exhibition about the life experiences of racialized LGBTQI+ population, the publication of a book on anti-racism for children, and the publication of a manual for caregivers.

During the 6 months period, the mentors report their progress for each monthly session and the students share with us the process of their work as well. In recent months, we have had meetings with the organization's team to discuss projects that could receive financial support from allied organizations and individuals that work closely with the organization.

Many activities have been carried out based on the beneficiaries’ interests, but with an anti-racist approach. For example, masterclasses and workshops outside the program, in order to strengthen their knowledge on a specific topic. Also, a community of the project’s alumni has been built where they join efforts to continue talking about combating racism in their environments and support themselves in their own projects. 

Projects

For instance, one project focuses on making a series of photographs that aim to exalt and show brown skin with a focus of pride and love through media that have been denied to them, such as advertising and fashion. This series of photographs is intended to be presented in the facilities of the underground public transport system in Mexico City (Metro), all with a focus on resistance for racialized people.

Also, one of YALP’s alumni was awarded a 70% scholarship to study at the Tecnológico de Monterrey –one of the most prestigious universities in Mexico– due to her labor as a writer on anti-racism for children. Thanks to YALP, she gathered the tools and knowledge she needed to position herself as this kind of leader. In the mentoring part of the process, she defined the objectives, goals, and the content that the book would have, then, when the book was ready, it went to design, layout, and illustration phase, where a female illustrator named Kenia Sarahi, aka "Yellow Puffly", was invited to design and illustrate the entire book. Considering the passion and interest in the project, RacismoMX decided to allocate a financial resource so that the book could be completely designed and printed.

Future goals

RacismoMX will continue building spaces for young people who are interested in creating advocacy actions in their communities, families or areas of social impact. Also, it will continue promoting and bringing tools of knowledge on anti-racism in Mexico and Latin America. We believe that the projects that are being developed will have a positive impact to bring the issue of systemic racism for those who still do not know how does it look like and how to solve it on their immediate context.