Garretson Sherman, a Liberian native and graphic artist who works with youth at African Refuge in Clifton, got involved with the Ceasefire Liberia blogging project last year in order to present a realistic picture of life in the United States to Liberians living in Africa. New, year-long grant aims to ease tensions between Africans and African-Americans by breaking down stereotypes, promote understanding STATEN ISLAND, NY - CLIFTON - How do educators address ethnic tensions without glossing over the subject, patronizing kids, or preaching to audiences already committed to the cause?
An ongoing fissure has divided African and African-American youth on Staten Island for the past decade, but service agencies that might unite them seldom draw participants from both demographics. And even older community leaders stand divided over that ethnic gap.
Ceasefire – a new project to launch this summer – seeks to draw African and African-American youth in equal numbers for a sustained, year-long program, prompting participants to tell their own stories. Its objective is to unite the two groups by turning participants into citizen journalists.
Racial healing, says founder Ruthie Ackerman, a resident of Harlem and a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute, will be a natural byproduct of sharing space and working together toward a common goal.
This is not Ms. Ackerman’s first foray into blog therapy.
After working as a freelance journalist in Liberia and on Staten Island, she founded “Ceasefire Liberia,” another blogging platform, in 2009, to connect Liberians living at home and throughout the Diaspora.
A brutal, 14-year civil war that ended in 2003 decimated Liberia and spread into Sierra Leone and neighboring sections of Guinea and Ivory Coast in Africa. Out of a population of 3 million, an estimated 250,000 people in Liberia were killed, with as many as 1.5 million people displaced. Many West African refugees ended up in the Park Hill section of Clifton, now home to one of the largest Liberian populations outside of Africa.
Safe territory did not bring immediate or thorough relief; the story of many West Africans on Staten Island is that of cultural outsiders recovering from trauma, often in the context of poverty.
As Staten Island’s African population grew, an unexpected fissure developed between the new immigrants and African-American youth, a divide that has chronically erupted in violence.
In 2007, five violent altercations were reported in Staten Island high schools in as many weeks – clashes that community leaders ascribed to tensions between young African-Americans and students native to Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In less publicized cases, tensions have resulted in taunting and bullying, or simply in self-segregation on Staten Island’s playgrounds.
At the root of these tensions are pride and stereotypes and battles over shared resources. “To me, misconceptions are the core of the problem,” said Ms. Ackerman. “Ceasefire is about breaking down barriers and giving young people the space to create a dialogue about issues facing both communities.”
Garretson Sherman, a Liberian native and graphic artist who works with youth at African Refuge, got involved with the Ceasefire Liberia blogging project last year in order to present a realistic picture of life in the United States to Liberians living in Africa.
“As people read the blog, they realized that a lot of things that Liberians expect of Liberians living in the Diaspora is not true, and it helped for us to see how best to help them,” he said last week. “On Staten Island, I notice that people aren’t communicating. Problems come through misunderstanding, so if we can find the source of misunderstanding, a lot of these problems can be resolved and we can all look out for each other, regardless of where we’re from.”
Meeting twice a month at the African Refuge youth center in Clifton, about 25 students participating in Ceasefire will use computers, cameras and Flip video cameras to compose short documentary films about their lives and neighborhoods.
Ms. Ackerman will lead workshops along with guest mentors, including journalists, photographers, musicians, poets and videographers.
Students will learn how to be reporters and how to be participants in the community, said Ms. Ackerman.
“New media has become a powerful communication tool and young people are more attracted to this than conventional means of dialogue,” said Jacob Massaquoi, director of African Refuge. “The marketplace for the exchange of ideas is now online.”
The program funding comes from a $10,000 grant to Ceasefire and African Refuge from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which this month launched a $75 million, five-year initiative to promote racial healing throughout the United States.
The program is open to participants aged 16 and up. To sign up, call Ms. Ackerman at 212-803-8645 or e-mail ruackerman@yahoo.com.
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