Youth Court Celebrates Law Day!

Law Day is May 1^st and it was created by the American Bar Association to educate people about the legal system as well as to appreciate the freedom we have. This year’s Law Day topic is the Magna Carta, Magna Carta, meaning ‘The Great Charter’, is one of the most famous documents in the world. Originally issued by King John of England as a practical solution to the political crisis he faced in 1215, Magna Carta established for the first time the principle that everybody, including the king, was subject to the law.

With staff, members of the Red Hook Youth Court discussed the topic of Magna Carta and staff asked the youth court members to create poems describing the Magna Carta. Earlier this month, the Youth Court Members presented extremely creative and informative poems and some even created songs with catchy choruses. But the fun did not stop there, the members also had a very intense debate about whether or not uniforms should be required in schools or not. The kids each appropriately and confidently provided their reasons for being either for or against this topic. The event turned out great and the kids had a lot of fun! The youth court members were very encouraging of one another and did a great job presenting! Please check out a poem from one of our members below and please stay tuned for more of our upcoming events!

Magna Carta by Mohamed

Guess who wrote Magna Carta

It was not Sparta
It was to lay down the law
It left many people in awe
At the time it was one of the best
Criminals put that test
Magna Carta Holy Grail
just like Jay-Z it didn’t fail
Magna was not short
Now give it up for Youth Court

Comments

Supporting the Staten Island Youth Justice Center at "Inside/Outside Legislative Theatre" Performance

On June 4th, a group of the Red Hook Youth Court members and staff went to see the "Theater of the Oppressed NYC" performance at the New School. Before attending this event, the youth court members had no idea that anything like this went on! While there, we learned that 12 different legislative laws were changed through something called "Legislative Theatre." The audience members get to be "spect-actors," which is great because the actual audience members got to participate in the play themselves and share their ideas. The performances last night were put on by members of the Staten Island Youth Justice Center (part of the Center for Court Innovation Family). These two plays dealt with real life issues such as getting stopped for not paying your bus fare, arriving late to school and getting sent to the principal's office because of the "zero tolerance policy," getting into fights at school, not knowing one's rights, and being raciall...

Peacemaking in Red Hook

Raymond Deal, Traditional Program Specialist, Shiprock District Court, Navajo Nation and Gloria Benally, Program Coordinator, Navajo Nation, train future Red Hook Peacemakers After an intensely trying period in Red Hook in the weeks following Hurricane Sandy, building, strenghtening, and healing relationships between residents and organizations has become crucial. This past weekend, we took a step towards preparing the neighborhood for the hard work ahead with a two-day workshop with peacemakers from the Navajo Nation for residents we are training to serve as peacemakers here in Red Hook. A new project from the Center for Court Innovation's Tribal Justice Exchange , peacemaking is a traditional Native American approach to justice. While the exact form peacemaking takes varies among tribes, it usually consists of one or more peacemakers—often community elders—who gently guide a conversation involving not only those directly involved in an offense or conflict but family ...

Rent, Repairs, and Rights: A Guide to Housing Court for NYCHA Tenants

Lillian Marshall, Tenant Association President of Red Hook West (left) and Naureen Rashid, Director of Court Operations Dorothy Shields, Tenant Association President of Red Hook East (Left) and Naureen Rashid, Director of Court Operations Hon. Alex Calabrese, Presiding Judge of the Red Hook Community Justice Center Graphic Designer Jenny Kutnow Clara Amenyo from the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)

Red Hook Justice - Your Community. Your Court.

Search This Blog