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Ceema Samimi
As a mixed-race, poor, queer, non-binary person, the odds that I would land where I have – not in jail, but in an advanced degree program (my third post-graduate degree) – were slim to none. I attended over 30 schools by the time I was 14 years old and never advanced past 10th grade. Like many young people, my school push out was only one consequence of many factors in my life, including a lack of support at home, traumatic experiences, abuse, and a childhood spent in poverty. Homelessness, health issues, violence, and interactions with law enforcement were all part of my lived experience before I was old enough to vote.
Education in the United States is to be free and compulsory - a promise of equal opportunity and access, and per research by the Pew Charitable Trust, education provides a doorway to upward mobility (Haskins, 2009). However, my lived experience, as well as my social work practice, have shown me that education is often inaccessible to young people from marginalized backgrounds. Witnessing young people being pushed out and excluded from school has always brought me immense concern. As a forensic social worker, advocating for clients to enter the “least restrictive environment” post-arrest was not enough. I knew that more could be done before a young person was disenfranchised from their school and that entry into the criminal justice system could be prevented entirely.
My goal as an academic is to do research that is not only useful to the community, but that transforms systems (such as the educational system) into inclusive and loving environments. My research askes how youth-serving organizations and institutions uplift or take away power from young people. I want my work to be useful not only to those most impacted but to those who make decisions about how that impact happens.
References:
Haskins, R. (2009). Promoting economic mobility by increasing postsecondary education. The Urban Institute. https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2009/pew_emp_promoting_upward_mobility.pdf
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The Weight of Bricks Digital Story
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The family
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My final year of school playlist
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At the first Climb the Peak awards in 1996
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With my Dad at John Jay graduation
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I am From/Going Poem from InDIGI qual class
I am from lockers that don’t lock
From broken pencils broken dreams
Keep it all inside
I am from the days of East Colfax sunsets mountains looming cars zooming by
Potlhole’d streets, neon lights gleaming, rain drying after the storm
Backpacks and old socks, holy
I am from all-night diner fries and unplanned library gatherings
Getting caught in the rain
Sick friends sleeping in bookstores
Watching TV at the Greyhound station
I am from case managers and volunteer teachers
Sitting on the floor
The most we can all hope for is a G.E.D.
I am from community dinners and ground rules
Stars passed out like gifts at Christmas
For Ceema, for starting poetry night
For Jason, who listened to me when I was going through a hard time
For Mindy, who helped me fill out job applications
From “practice safe sex” and “respect diversity”
The slogans that weren’t just that
The rules for the rule-less
I am from downtown parks paved over for elitist convenience
Trading street names for store names
Being told to “move along”
From getting sang awake in the morning by the overnight staff
Joy and pain. Like sunshine and rain.
I am from not knowing what to do
Calling the cops and they tell you it’s not possible to make a report
Wondering what it means to be “living independently”
Friends on the couch ‘cuz I don’t wanna be alone
My house has no pictures
Nothing to remind me of the time before
Just a brick with my name on it
My name forever linked
I am Going
I am going to wide open spaces
To circle sits and sacred waters
To let it all out
I am going to clean mountain air birds flying by
Branches swaying, star light sparkling, rain starting in the dusk
Woven cloth covering alters, holy
I am going to coffee shop book clubs and random library encounters
Laughing in the rain
Old friends relaxing around the fire
Dancing until we’re just too tired
I am going to the place where
I’ll be turning research on its head
Hoping for the most I can possibly hope for
I am going to let go and hold on
Relationships are all that matter
I am going to be the one with the backward ideas
Indoctrinating minds with the truth of
The fable of tradition
The dependability of lore
I am going to a room decorated
With reminders of the time before