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August 17, 2001
"Leadership Talk with The Brotherhood/Sister Sol"
In this installment, Khary Lazarre-White and Susan Wilcox, Co-Directors of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol in New York, answered questions about their innovative youth development program in Harlem, New York. Leadership for a Changing World
Welcome to Leadership Talks. We're talking today with Khary Lazarre-White and Susan Wilcox, Co-Directors of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, in Harlem, NY. Our first question today is:
Can you tell us why The Brotherhood/Sister Sol was started?
Khary Lazarre-White
The Brotherhood/Sister Sol was founded as “Da Brotherhood” in 1994 in Providence, Rhode Island by Jason Warwin and I, then, senior students at Brown University. Both of us were activists on campus, and we wanted to do something to serve the broader Providence community. Working at the John Hope Settlement House, we designed an innovative program to serve Black and Latino youth identified as “at risk.”
Then we decided once we came back to New York, that that was the community and groups we had a commitment to. And we now work with young women, because obviously we wanted to help the other half of the population.
Boston, MA
How did you get involved in social justice work?
Susan Wilcox
Each of us has a history of social justice work within our families. Therefore the need to work within your community and to fight against oppression were ideals we all grew up with.
Newark, New Jersey
Was it hard to sell the idea of helping youth to your funders?
Khary Lazarre-White
The majority of foundations that we receive funds from fund youth work. So, we were not seeking support from foundations that were adverse to youth work.
However, there were foundations that sometimes were uncomfortable with our ideology and the fact that we work with Black and Latino youth. So, we had to make clear our intentions and convictions.
Providence, RI
Was it difficult getting the school system to go along with your ideas?
Susan Wilcox
It's individual schools that we have a relationship with. It would be different if we went to the Boards of Education; that would probably be problematic. We specifically work with schools that share our ideology and who recognize that the work we do is fundamentally educational and add to what they get in school.
That said, word gets around the city very quickly. After establishing two successful partnerships at schools directed by Jason’s former teachers, we developed a reputation for supporting positive youth development. From that point we had schools contacting us with the desire to establish Brotherhood or Sister Sol chapters in their school.
Salt Lake City
Please elaborate on the Liberation Program and what is the Liberation Collective?
Khary Lazarre-White
The Program consists of a cadre of young people across ethnic, gender and sexual orientation lines, who come together to study the history of liberation movements around the world and the role young people have had in activisim and freedom. They hash out their own convictions and activists interests.
Once this process is completed, the young people then move towards a social justice action.
Washington, DC
What were some of the main obstacles in starting your organization, and how did you deal with them?
Susan Wilcox
Money is always the biggest challenge in creating and doing something at the grassroots level --and all kinds of other resources that go along with that -- from computers to supplies that you would need and equipment for the kids. So, money will always be our greatest challenge.
As you grow, just making sure the mission stays intact and that everybody on board is really clear about it and able to promote it well.
Denver, CO
Can you talk more about the relationship between the Brotherhood and Sister Sol? Is one for boys and one for girls?
Susan Wilcox
The organization is The Brotherhood/Sister Sol. One program that we run, the primary way we engage young people is by setting up single-gender chapters in the public secondary schools we partner with. These chapters become very closeknit groups of either young men or young women who are together learning about issues of Pan-African/Latino history, sexism/misogony, bias reduction and so forth.
They have the opportunity to grapple with some very important issues in a setting where they feel comfortable, where they don't have to worry about issues of teen attraction. At the same time, we have those sames groups of young men and women come together in the other programs that we run. And hopefully they do so constructively and with mutual respect, having really thought about and reflected on issues of sexism, feminism, who they are, their values, etc.
Tacoma, WA
There seems to be a general negative attitude towards teens today. Have you had to deal with negative attitudes towards your kids? How have you handled that?
Khary Lazarre-White
We believe in providing young people with support, guidance and love. In no way are teens any more destructive than many adults. We believe that if young people come of age in an environment of love and support, they will follow their dreams; they will be responsible, and on point.
However, if in the school they are confronted with violence, or if they are raised in families surrounded by violence, by brutality, then what will be produced is angry, violent children.
Very few young people are wired to be difficult, in an innate way; but, instead, are conditioned to be destructive.
When horrible incidents happen such as Columbine, or in situations of gang violence, there is huge media attention. Whereas, when young people volunteer, hold down jobs, develop conferences in their schools, go all over the world, are the first in their family to go to college, or learn to be responsible mothers and fathers, that doesn't make the local news. And certainly doesn't make the international news.
Rhode Island
How do you recruit youth and keep them involved and returning to your program?
Susan Wilcox
The main way is through having open-house sessions at the schools we work in. We let the kids in the schools know we're starting a Brotherhood/Sister Sol chapter.
School staff also recommend youth to join. For other programs, we recruit through other programs. With the Liberation Program, we talk to young people.
For ages six and up, in our after school program, it's more word of mouth.
And we maintain our members' involvement over time by developing their trust and commitment. So they know we'll be there for them. They know we'll guide them and not judge them. They know they can come to us for anything.
Houston, TX
How do you involve the community in your programs?
Khary Lazarre-White
We are a community-based grassroots organization. Everything we do is inherently community. The young people who are part of our programs come from our neighborhoods.
We're doing community revitalization through buying a building, rehabilitating it, and providing another positive anchor in the community.
Chicago, IL
How was your partnership formed and how do the three co-directors work together?
Khary Lazarre-White
We’ve known each other for years. Khary & Jason have been friends since the age of 5; Susan and Jason have been friends for 10 years.
Khary and Jason grew up together and ended up going to the same college. Because of their close relationship to each other, and their shared commitment to community development, they often talked about their future goals. Jason and Khary started The Brotherhood in college and then, after graduating, they incorporated The Brotherhood in NYC in 1995. They asked Susan to be the first Board Chair, and she served for three years in that capacity. In 1998, she stepped down from her position on the board and joined Khary and Jason as a Co-Director.
Within the Director’s Circle we work as a collective to manage and supervise the general operations of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol. Each of us is an equal partner within the collective. We each have specific responsibilities for various areas of management, which are closely aligned with our areas of expertise.
In addition, we are each chapter leaders (working directly with youth) and maintaining a Director’s Circle allows us to share executive responsibilities, so we can have time for our true love -- youth development.
New York City
Could you tell us a little bit about what it's like to work as a team. What would you say are the benefits - and the challenges?
Susan Wilcox
The benefits are what were already mentioned -- we get to share the responsibility of running the organization. That includes not just the work but the stress that goes along with it.
The rewards are it allows us to work directly with young people.
While we have a lot of common beliefs and values and knowledge, we also bring our own perspectives. That really helps to strengthen our work.
Los Angeles, California
Can you elaborate more on the after-school curriculum and skill building piece? How do you keep the youth focused and engaged, when oftentimes all they may want to do is "hang out"?
Khary Lazarre-White
We have two distinctly different afterschool programs. The first is for what we call the little people, six to 12 years old. The program is very carefuly regimented. It has drumming, fishing classes, tumbling, arts and crafts. This goes hand in hand with homework help --so that children are not placed afterschool in the same environment, they spent their whole day in. We want them to develop innovative methods and skills.
It's always a struggle to keep the attention of children that age. But by providing diverse programs, we keep them involved.
For the older members, most of the afterschool opportunities are centered around their expressed interests or needs, including SAT prep, cooking classes, Internet classes, and, next year, photography and video editing. These are areas teenagers don't predominantly learn in school, and so they are excited by the opportunities.
NYC
You are all pretty young - and for at least two of you, this seems like the first program you have developed.
Do you get challenged about your "expertise" by people in the school system and maybe other institutions, and how do you handle that?
Khary Lazarre-White
I don't think we've been challenged very much by people about our expertise. I think the way we've constructed the program is one where we are the immediate elders to those we mentor. A rites of passage program makes sense in most of our programs, and they welcome us with open arms.
New York, NY
How do you decide on a new project to take on? Do all three co-directors need to approve?
Susan Wilcox
Most of our work comes out of the needs in the community. The community could be the school community we're in. It could be the physical neighborhood we're in.
So, when we moved to our brownstone, there was such an apparent need to work with kids age 6, we moved back to work with that age group. So, our organization is very organic.
We all do come to consensus about changes, and we also get a lot of feedback and support from our Board of Directors.
Albany, New York
First of all, you are doing amazing work. I grew up in Harlem and certainly remember as a teenager all of the obstacles and tribulations teens are always under. In reference to the sexism/misogny discussions, does your program work at all with other community groups, such as Rape Crisis Centers?
Susan Wilcox
We work with many other groups in the community in different ways. We do community outreach where we facilitate workshops on sexism/misonogy, Pan-African/Latino history, race, and conflict resolution.
Specifically, with rape crisis centers, we might have a guest speaker come in and speak with our members about issues pertaining to rape. And we provide resources for our members should they need it.
Baltimore, MD
I've been reading about Social entrepeneurial non-profits, which like your organization has a mission focused on helping others but also may have a commercial aspect whereby the organization creates a service or product which they market to make money. Are you doing any partnerships with private for-profits where you are making money?
Khary Lazarre-White
No, we are not. But it is something we have discussed and will at some point pursue.
West Bloomfield,MI
How much progress have you seen since the program's inception and do we see you spreading your wings beyond Harlem?
Khary Lazarre-White
We've seen a great deal of success with our young people. They attest to this through their own comments, that they feel this is a place where they have been able to grow and prosper.
We've had quite a few young people enter this organization not interested in school or doing well academically, and they have wound uip being the first person in their family going to college.
While they attribute this to their teachers, they feel that their interest and desire was developed through us.
As for expansion, there are over 500,000 people in the neighborhood of Harlem. So, we want to continue to expand within the Harlem community, reaching more young people.
Trenton, NJ
What are the qualities of leadership you seek to explore with your program participants?
Susan Wilcox
Knowledge of self, critical thinking and community responsibility, just to name a few. Black and Latino youth are surrounded by poverty, drugs, violence, racism and mis-education. We provide these youth with the support, guidance, knowledge and resources necessary in order to understand and overcome these negative pressures, as well as the skills to combat them.
Indianapolis, IN
How would you like to see the Brotherhood/Sister Sol grow in the next few years?
Susan Wilcox
It's not so much that we want to grow in terms of more programs. But we want to make sure our programs are running very well, that they're achieving the goals we want to happen.
We would like to have more financial stability.
San Francisco, CA
How do you take care of yourself personally while working on such a tough issue? How do you prevent burnout?
Khary Lazarre-White
That’s a good question. We all try to support each other in maintaining balance as much as possible. This is very challenging work, and all of us work long hours. Our members have our home numbers and our cell phones, and it's not the kind of job you forget about when you leave. We encourage peer support amongst our staff and always work in pairs to ensure that each staff person is not alone when facing challenging situations. But most of all we provide a great benefit package with mandatory personal days and substantial vacation time!
Salinas, KS
I think it is terrific that your work also includes encouraging young people to examine issues of sexism, misogyny and sexual difference. In exploring these issues, have you encountered any resistance from the participants? Is there a struggle to embrace greater tolerance among young people who may have been raised to have very rigid perceptions of gender, gender roles, and sexuality?
Susan Wilcox
For many of the issues we teach, they obviously come to us shaped by the influence of their parents and family, the community and the media. So, we do challenge them a lot to live up to their own beliefs and to, more than that, define their beliefs for themselves.
Not every kid is going to be a feminist or want to call themselves that, but we want young people to have respect for the people in their lives they encounter -- and just respect for each other.
Atlanta, GA
What motivates you to do your work? What are your sources of inspiration and how would you describe your driving passion—in life and in your work?
Khary Lazarre-White
Khary: I have a deep commitment to attempt to create change. There is a great deal of inequality and injustice in this world, in this country, in this city and in this neighborhood. I feel like if you live a life not trying to help others in a concrete way, it isn't a life lived well.
I think one of the truths of this work that we learn a great deal is we get a lot out of it. It's not simply an experience of giving and not receiving.
Susan: It's hard to add to that. I would say that the motivation stems from the sum total of my life experiences. Growing up in a family of educators and activists, these values have just been there.
At the same time, it almost seems like a calling. It's hard to identify what the roots of motivation are. It's a passion.
Leadership for a Changing World
That is all the time we have today. We would like to thank Khary and Susan for joining us and sharing the story of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol.
If you are interested in learning more about The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, please contact:
The Brotherhood/Sister Sol
512 West 143 Street
New York, NY 10031
Tel: 212 283-7044
Fax: 212 283-3700
www.brotherhood-sistersol.org
Today's conversation and additional information on The Brotherhood/Sister Sol will be archived on the Leadership for a Changing World website, www.leadershipforchange.org.
Thank you for joining our live conversation with Khary Lazarre-White and Susan Wilcox. Check back with us for future Leadership Talks.
Khary Lazarre-White
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