Lisette Gomez

Creating this t- shirt was an amazing experience i remember making it i felt so proud because i was able to do a silent protest. i thought I was making a change even though Sean Bell had passed away i feel it's great to remember him and what he stood up for.I feel its not right to take advantage of your power asnd it's time for these kind of people to realize what they have done.iT WAS FUN I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS. R.I.P. sEAN bELL

Kieran Gipson: Protesting Authority

I really liked being able to do this silent protest. We really got to express our thoughts in just something simple. We protested the police's ability to do whatever they want to the regular people. Who are supposed to make sure that the police follow the rules and if they exist then where are they when this is happening. These t-shirts felt really special since we actually made them ourselves, by hand. Walking down the street was pretty cool since I'm sure as people saw the shirt then they started to think about what had happened to Sean Bell and how the cops were able to get away with it. No one may have said anything, but I'm sure that they were thinking and in the end that's what really matters.

Kieran Gipson, myspace.com/kierancg

Danielle Cureton: Student Protester

Yesterday when I wore the Sean Bell shirt I felt amazing. People were really quiet when I got on the train. In the morning, people were just reading it. The point of wearing it was for people to see how kids can make a difference. The difference I was trying to make was using my voice by protesting the verdict given during the case against the cops. It was important because I was an upstander and used my voice for good!

Darnell Major

to tell the truth I took it off yesterday after school. I started to get nervous. Everybody was looking at me. I knew that It was wrong what they did to him and it was very racist. I managed to wear the shirt to school but not back home. I kept on thinking that I was going to get shot or beat up. I know that some people are against it and they might take it as an insult.

Kevin Ortiz

The protest was about the amount of power distributed in society. Police were given the privilege of power and are now abusing this privilege. When the person who was put to protect us against the bad abuses their power it makes us wonder who will police the police. The protest had double meaning to it, it was also about assumptions based on irrational judgments. Small judgments can cause serious problems and so far has caused slavery, has caused segregation, and now has caused the death of Sean Bell. Our protest might not be big, but as long as people think about our protest we have accomplished our goal.

"I AM SEAN BELL"

If you are reading this, thank you so much for visting our webpage. I just wanted to tell you guys how it felt to do this non violence protest. I felt so excited. I just wanted to say that the Bell family is so strong and brave. I hope that I made a difrence in any kind of way (good). Gabriel Paulino

Making the T-Shirts

Printing the Shirts

The "I AM SEAN BELL" T-Shirt Project

The "I AM SEAN BELL" T-Shirt Project

hi I'm Kevin and this one of the best experience of my life. i liked this a lot and we got to use our voice without saying a word. the t-shirts did all of the talking.I loved this protest and i will love to do this all over again!!!!






The students in the Race and Membership class decided that they wanted to protest the Sean Bell verdict by printing T-Shirts with the statement "I AM SEAN BELL". The students expressed a wide range of reasons for choosing this means of expressing themselves, and raise important questions informed by their study of history of the 20th century.

The "I AM SEAN BELL" T-Shirt Project

Though I do not want to disclose my name, that is me in the blue shirt, and yes i was caught off guard. The whole thing was uplifting and felt like a load as been release from my back because i was opposed on the verdict when i heard it, and never thought of in anyway to protest it and to my suprise, many people in my class disagreed with the verdict too. Though we didnt attract attention from any out side audiences like many people though we were going to attract, on the school only level, i think were very sucessful.
-anomynous

Whats up? My name is Franklin and I am a 9th grade student at Faching History School. Yup, thats me in the orange shirt!
When I wore the shirt I felt good. The experience was really fun and I felt strong and brave. The point was to show respect to the family of Sean Bell and to raise awareness to the injustice that happened in his case and situation. The thing that was most successful was that I got through the day feeling good and powerful. I used my voice without saying anything.
-Franklin

Slide Show from the Urban Arts Festival 2008

RACE & MEMBERSHIP

This semester in Race & Membership we studied how theories of race evolved over time and how these ideas have allowed certain people to enjoy full membership in society and also excluded other people from enjoying the benefits of membership in the same society. The Eugenics theories of the last century have become the stereotypes of today. With this poster project our goal was to create an image that shows how each student is a unique individual who belongs to multiple communities: family, neighborhood, cultural community, our school, and the world.