An Interview Of Joe Giambrone.
On November 25, 2017 By Jerry AlataloIn Awareness, Earth Matters, Government Lies / False Flags, Higher Consciousness, Interview Series, Propaganda, Spirit Matters, Syria, The Media, War and Peace6 Comments
r. Joe Giambrone, editor of Political Film Blog here on WordPress, has kindly agreed to participate in an interview after receiving our invitation. Thank you Joe for sharing your insights in the following words.
Question 1: What was your primary motivation for entering the world of blogging?
The main force driving The Political Film Blog (PFB) is all that wholesale lying we get from corporate media and from politicians. It's an anti-propaganda blog. The truth is out there, but not compiled into any sort of narrative that regular people can digest. You have to pull from numerous sources over a long time to get an accurate picture of the world, and the media is expert in doing the exact opposite. Thus, the population is uninformed or misinformed about the most important issues affecting humanity: war, environmental destruction, threats to health, and the utter illegitimacy of the political system.
I began Political Film Blog () as a simple storage place for the many shocking news articles that are not propelled into the national news cycles, the facts that slip through the cracks. It has a great search feature, too, and over 6,000 posts spanning eight years. I tied in film reviews to attract more readers, as Counterpunch did with film and book reviews. I also invited other writers to post, as Counterpunch did. That was my model.
I remember a political argument with my wife's family. My father-in-law said one of the most astounding things I've ever heard in a political discussion. He was an Orange County Republican, in the oil industry, and prone to fly around to oil fields globally. It was the midst of the political upheaval of 2000, the rise of the Green Party and Ralph Nader speaking truth to power. Here's what my wife's father said:
"Corruption is not a problem in America."
My jaw may have hit the floor, how anyone could possibly believe such a thing when the entire system is literally legalized bribery, it is pay to play in Washington, arguably the most corrupt place on earth. They fly in from around the empire to "lobby" and bribe our politicians, the Saudis, Israelis, Turks, Stans, even the Russians, allegedly. US politicians are bribed every day of the year to betray their constituents and to act in the service of their paymasters.
While low-level bureaucrats are not openly taking bribes as in third world countries, those on television screens are only there because they take bribes to the tune of billions of dollars! Corruption is THE problem with America.
The PFB was intended to counter that sort of willful blindness. It provides easy recall of the news articles that refute such muddleheaded thinking. In the years since, I have used the blog as a research tool on numerous topics such as illegal NSA spying, the proxy wars against Syria and Ukraine, 9/11 and other hot-button controversies. The more a subject is flooded with disinformation and emotional baggage the more desperate is the need for clear verifiable facts at your fingertips. That's why I continue to post entries.
Question 2: How would you describe yourself with regard to spirituality?
I have no imaginary friends. I'm agnostic on the question of the supernatural. It's quite simple, to me. I can't prove or disprove supernatural phenomena. Neither can today's physicists. They have no absolute answers, merely more questions. That's good enough for me. I'd prefer some sort of bonus prize for this life, but I'm not banking on it.
Question 3: What were some of the most memorable transforming points across the years (books, personal contacts, mystical experiences, etc.) in the developing of your current spiritual perspective?
In my 20s I got into psychology in an effort to heal my own mind. I noticed similarities between Zen meditation and Primal Therapy. These each end up giving adherents a more present-moment mindfulness. They calm the mind and channel attention into the current sights, sounds, tactile sensations.
In studying psychology I began to doubt the veracity of my previous religious delusions. Being introduced to religion in the 7th grade, I already had formed my own personality without a need to defer to some religious mumbojumbo in every new situation. Now a teenager, I found the Catholic religious instruction stifling, oppressive, creepy, and unnecessary. I did, however, buy into it eventually. Maturing stresses the brain, and we grasp for answers, particularly answers about death. It's a powerful motivator to believe things that don't have any basis in empirical research simply because everyone else is doing it. Religion is the worst peer-pressure offender.
Question 4: What is your greatest wish for readers as a consequence after reading/considering your writings?
Most of the time I'm simply a proponent of the truth, seeking to dispel lies and champion the facts. Unfortunately, Americans largely don't care about facts. They care about propaganda that helps their cause and demonizes their opponents - and nothing more. I run into this every day.
The news has long been weaponized, and we have the "liberal" news and the "conservative" news. Neither of which is the news at all, but that's what people want, the only thing they want.
I don't play that game. I've said many times: Trump bad don't make Clinton good. I have yet to meet a Democrat who could compute that statement. The US political system is a glaring sham, and I've got the thousands of articles tagged and bagged on the blog to prove it.
So, my wish at the blog is always to set the record straight and dispel the delusions that make up people's warped imperial worldview. The blind nationalism is a huge component. They actually believe that America can bomb the world with impunity if only their team is in charge. This is a Nazi view. This is what World War Two was fought over. This is why we hung people at Nuremberg: Crimes Against the Peace. But in the imperial delusion, none of that, no history matters to them. They are the ones controlling the big military now, and as long as people like themselves push the buttons it's perfectly acceptable for them to kill... Millions?
We are surrounded by immoral people in an immoral, rapacious military empire, and that's not okay with me. It should not be okay with anyone.
Question 5: Can you offer any advice to people having a difficult time dealing with government and media lies, especially as it pertains to so many average citizens who hold erroneous perceptions on important events and situations around the Earth?
I remember the film compilation, "What I've Learned About US Foreign Policy." () This should be what children study in grammar school, what the US actually does around the world, today, the real world. That is not what is on the agenda, however. Americans don't learn much relevant to our military empire at all. I find the average American completely ignorant of the most important events of the past fifty years. Current events are clouded by propaganda with foundations and paid henchmen spinning them endlessly for money and power. The CIA is also an interested player in giving a one-sided history of the world as things like Project Mockingbird and Udo Ulfkotte's admissions revealed.
You can prove US corporate media censorship, unequivocally, with two words: Operation Gladio. You cannot find one investigation by any US corporate media entity regarding this forty-year long spree of false flag terrorism attacks across Europe! The US press is completely under the control of US intelligence, on certain topics. This happens to be the ugliest, and it was exposed by nation states and buttressed with major investigations, such as-surprisingly-by the BBC. So there is no counterargument to spin it away. The CIA blew up civilians across Europe to demonize European Leftists. That happened for four decades (at least)! But, no one in America, save for a handful of the types who read my blog, know anything whatsoever about it.
If the public knew that the CIA engaged in false flag terrorism regularly, as a matter of statecraft - they also did it in Iran in 1953 and elsewhere - would they be so quick to dismiss accusations of state-sponsored false flag terrorism today? Does anyone think the CIA and the true Deep State suddenly found morals? When did that happen exactly?
These are foundational concepts. The "Strategy of Tension" is how it is sold as a good thing, to keep the public in a state of "tension" so that they approve of new state measures, power grabs, to combat the terrorism that the state itself allows to occur. It's so sick, and yet here we are. It's why even though we're in a purported "war on terror" the US government and its allies/arms customers can protect and help terrorists in Syria, Libya and elsewhere. It's only "terror" if they kill an American. That's their practical working definition.
The US tends to play both sides, or multiple sides in conflicts. That's why it's so difficult to decipher their policies. They bomb ISIS, for example, in some places, but not in others. They have repeatedly bombed the Syrian government forces who were fighting against ISIS at the time, thus helping those ISIS units. After a major research initiative in 2015, I began to make sense of their Syria policy. That one is here:

But getting back to the question: what advice?
Be suspicious of any breaking news stories, spread widely, which demonize one of America's official enemies: Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Syria, Russia. When the news machine acts in unison they are being guided by the US Deep State. That is a certainty, and the contrary facts tend to emerge over the next several days or weeks. Take everything the media screams loudly about with a grain of salt.
I've seen it discredited over and over again, such as with Bashar Al Assad "gassing his own people." Assad has never gassed his own people, not once in the entire war, and no credible evidence proves that he did. It was America's proxy allies using the gas. Those revelations were not screamed about in the media, but instead censored out.
Thank you again, Joe. Peace.
An Interview Of Santosh Krinsky.
On November 24, 2017 November 24, 2017 By Jerry AlataloIn Higher Consciousness, Interview Series, New Thought, Solutions, Spirit Matters, Spirituality And..., Sri Aurobindo, War and Peace3 Comments
r. Santosh Krinsky, editor of Sri Aurobindo Studies here at WordPress, has kindly given a positive response to our invitation to participate in an interview. Thank you Santosh for sharing your thoughts in the following words.
Question 1...) What was your primary motivation for entering the world of blogging on the worldwide web - on the internet?
Having heard for years how difficult it was for many people to delve into the writings of Sri Aurobindo, and their consequent lack of knowledge about the issues raised and covered in those writings, and having personally determined that I wanted to find a way to deepen my own appreciation by a steady, systematic review, I combined the intention of a daily study session with the idea of blogging to allow others to participate if they felt so inclined, in this process.
Question 2...) How would you describe yourself with regard to spirituality? What were some of the most memorable transforming points across the years (books, personal contacts, mystical experiences, etc.) in the developing of your current spiritual perspective?
I distinguish spirituality from any form of religious practice. For myself a spiritual life is about recognizing the oneness and inter-connectedness of all life and existence, and then working to transform thoughts, emotions, and actions to express the recognition of that oneness. During that process, the essential mystical experience is one that opens the heart and mind to the beauty and underlying harmony of existence, which can arise at any time and under any circumstances, whether in solitude walking in a forest, or in the midst of activity of daily life.
As to memorable transforming moments, the first time I was given a copy of Sri Aurobindo's The Life Divine certainly counts as one of those moments. When I opened it randomly and read the first few paragraphs, I suddenly recognized a connection which has continued now for over 46 years! Another was when I was residing for a period of time at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry India in 1973 and experienced the Mahasamadhi of Sri Aurobindo's co-worker The Mother in November 1973. The events of that time went deep into my psyche and helped me to take a new direction and attitude in my life.
Question 3...) What is your greatest wish for readers as a consequence after reading/considering your writings?
In the end, no amount of reading can replace the actual inner opening and practice of the spiritual principles. The daily blog post may be a way for readers to step out of their normal hectic lives for a few moments to reflect on how to integrate their spiritual quest in their lives, and if it has that result, I would be gratified.
Question 4...and final) Can you offer any advice to people having a difficult time dealing with government and media lies, especially as it pertains to so many average citizens who hold erroneous perceptions on important events and situations around the Earth.
I find this message from Sri Aurobindo to be essential: "live within, be not shaken by outward happenings". The evolution of consciousness on the planet continues, just as life evolved out of matter, and mind evolved out of life, the next phase of development of consciousness is underway. One of the hallmarks of this process is the revealing and exposure of the falsehoods and deceptions that have built up under the framework of physical denseness, vital aggressiveness and mental separation. As the awareness of oneness takes hold, secrets get revealed and all people and institutions of society are impacted. Those holding power try to hold on using "any means necessary" which causes considerable short-term suffering. The ongoing force of the spiritual transformation however eventually will be able to gain the upper hand and usher in a new vision that treats the planet with respect, and which recognizes the oneness of all people and does not get bogged down in the mental distinctions of race, religion, gender, class, etc. which so burden all of humanity in today's world.
Eventually the deceptions must be revealed. What is occurring in the modern world is essentially no different than what has happened throughout the vital and mental phases of human evolution, only that the powers of mass media and corporatism provide added leverage to those seeking to hold power over others and undertake the "self-dealing" that creates enormous suffering in the world for those who are prevented from having access to the world's resources. Yet we see an ever growing force of "truth-consciousness" which is beginning to peel back the layers of obscuration and deception so that we become more aware of it. Awareness is the first stage for any real change of consciousness. Thus we can see that persistence and patience, understanding and goodwill, and providing an example of action from the state of oneness are the powers that each person who awakens at this critical juncture needs to put into practice. Speak truth, act with honor, hold goodwill and compassion in one's heart, and have confidence that the evolutionary process proceeds apace to spread a new power of consciousness that will be able to bring forth the harmony that is so desperately needed in the world.
Actually one thing occurred to me that people everywhere can do along these lines:
People can take active steps to recognize the oneness of all of humanity by building bridges between people of different cultures and religions, sharing and appreciating what strengths each of them bring with them, and looking behind the differences to see the common humanity. This may involve visiting, participating in and honoring the practices of various religions or spiritual paths, reaching out to people who are disadvantaged and working actively to ease their suffering, as well as acting as a thought-leader in one's own circles to counter-act bigotry and racism, class consciousness and prejudice with a deeper conviction and insight into the common circumstances of all humanity.
Similarly, working toward respecting all species who share the planet, and working toward respecting the planet itself and supporting actions that heal rather than destroy, that bring harmony rather than dissension, are all things that people of good will can do.
Thank you again, Santosh. Peace.
An Interview Of Alfred Gluecksmann.
On November 15, 2017 December 9, 2017 By Jerry AlataloIn Interview Series15 Comments
r. Alfred Gluecksmann, editor at Argentum Post here on WordPress, was kindly willing to take part in a short question and answer interview after we made the request. This is the first published interview here at The Oneness of Humanity, and we wish to do many more with men and women from across the Earth. Any readers wishing to participate in an interview and sharing thoughts can simply let us know, and we'll easily make the arrangements.
Thank you Alfred for contributing your thoughts in the following words.
Question 1.) What was your primary motivation for entering the world of blogging on the worldwide web - on the internet?
This one requires the most comprehensive reply, but I shall be as succinct as possible.
As the son of parents who were declared stateless and who escaped the Nazi crimes against the humanity of Jews and others, my German father and Austrian mother  were forced by circumstances to separate temporarily since my mother and her parents had problems leaving Berlin in 1938 due to her mother's illness, so she insisted my father leave immediately for Bolivia (the only country which offered refugee status to him) and so he did, with only $ 10.00 in his pocket in a non-passenger freighter he boarded in Marseilles for Callao, Peru wherefrom he would have to take a train to LaPaz, Bolivia - which is a landlocked country.
Upon arriving in the port city of Callao however , my father was barred from disembarking to take the train to La Paz because of the undue influence of the World Zionist Organization over corrupted politicians in Lima, Peru which according to the immigration official issued the order that be returned on the same freighter to Marseilles because he was needed for the Palestine colonization project.
This order would have meant a death sentence for my father, as explained infra.
Well, a synergy of luck, kindness of an immigration official in Callao, and adrenaline gave my father the energy to run for his life into an area where the freight train yard was, and there he jumped onto a freight wagon and managed to make it to La Paz.
Had it been up to the Nazis and then up to the Zionists, my father would have been sent back to Marseilles and by then the Nazis would have already moved into position in France to have arranged for him to be shipped to an extermination camp and hence I would not have been writing this report since I was born later in 1944 in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
My father wound up working at the house of the former Bolivian President Tejada Soriano as a butler and when the President's wife asked him if he was married he explained that he was, but that his wife who managed to escape to Paris with her parents with the help of a German military officer who had helped them, risking his own life, to cross the border into Belgium and henceforth into France.
At that time however she and her parents were stuck in Paris soon to come under the Nazi occupation.
Luckily my mother got it touch with the very decent Jewish organization called the Joint Committee and found out that a visa had been telexed to her and her parents by the intervention of said wife of the former President of Bolivia and the Bolivian embassy in Paris handed it to her and thus she and her parents were saved thus my mother, father, and grandparents were finally reunited in a safe place in La Paz, Bolivia.
In utero, I believe I sensed the stress, fear, and anger my parents felt and this was transmitted to me throughout our journey from La Paz to Buenos Aires and finally to São Paulo during the years of my infancy and adolescence.
Then to boot, again dark clouds gathered in the political  climate and again my parents felt a need to pack up and leave and this happened close in 1963, just before the last democratically elected government of the populist João Goulart was overthrown by a right-wing military coup which used the pretext of President Goulart's trip to the PRC to tag him as a "communist". What ensued was a 20 year of dictatorship and torture.
Sadly, the United States supported the crushing of democracy in Brazil just as on 9/11, 1973 the United States again supported the crushing of the Chilean democracy.
Nevertheless,  my parents and I managed to get a visa to emigrate from Brazil to the U.S. where we finally adjusted to a normal life but not before, I was at 18 drafted for the war on Vietnam even though I was a German citizen.
Bottom line, the primary motivation to enter the blogosphere was my constant and relentless anti-war, anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-classism, and pro peace, justice, equality, and democratic socialist ideals activism which from my academic, professional, and post-professional life had me marching in countless pro genuine, transparent, participatory democratic governance, and anti-war demonstrations in San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, DC.
As a research chemist turned chemical science and technology intellectual property protection investigator and agent (after passing the patent bar exam), I became adept at searching for the facts and writing accurate and precise reports wherever the truth would take me.
 After retirement, three journalist friends suggested that I take up writing, about my passion for justice and peace, and that motivated me to launch the Argentum Post in October of 2013 which became my main literary activism medium.
Question 2.) How would you describe yourself with regard to spirituality; what were some of the most memorable transforming points across the years (books, personal contacts, mystical experiences, etc.) in the developing of your current spiritual perspective?
I was never asked by my parents to embrace any religion even though my mother was a kind of a progressive spiritual in the Judaic sense and since I loved her and she asked me for the memory of her family, most of which perished in concentration camps and/or were executed there, that I undergo the Bar Mitzvah ceremony and I did that in São Paulo, Brazil.
I also went to a Catholic, and a Lutheran school during my junior high school years in São Paulo, not because of religious reasons but because these were the best schools in the closest proximity of our residence.
My paternal grandfather was a non-theist, socialist, and engineer who left Berlin in 1935 for the USSR and after the war in 1945 moved on to Haifa, Palestine where he had secular, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian friends and therefore became a Palestinian citizen. In 1948 though, as a result of what he considered the utterly unacceptable way that Palestine was violently partitioned, he move to London and therefrom to join my parents and I in São Paulo, Brazil.
My father was likewise a non-theist, and a socialist.
So, once I came to the United States, I looked for company and friends who would share with me a value system based on secular humanist guidelines and later I discovered and joined the Washington Ethical Society, then I immersed myself in literature such as "Free Inquiry" (inter alia) which I discovered through the American Ethical Union movement.
M ore recently I discovered that progressive, humanist, theists such as those of the Unitarian Universalist Church (where I volunteered for social services for the homeless), of the progressive "theology of liberation"  Christians, and of the progressive reform Jewish universalist Torah values guided movement  such as the prestigious American Council for Judaism , Rabbi Lerner's Tikkun teachings,
 Jewish Voice for Peace,  and even the sweet and peace loving Neturei Karta Orthodox Jews who I demonstrated with on the occasion of the intrusion by collusion into Congress of the Zionist misleader of Israel, Netanyahu, to sabotage the Iran nuclear talks - all inspired me to broaden my scope and realize that ultimately it is not what one believes ,  or does not believe ,  that matters, as much as what one does with said beliefs  to enrich he value of wholesome life .
Hence one can say that I am a secular humanist who embraces religious humanist since we all have humanist values as a common denominator and we don't do to others what we would not want done to us.
Question 3.) What is your greatest wish for readers as a consequence after reading/considering your writings?
 My greatest wish is to penetrate and burn through the fog generated by omission, suppression, distortion, or lack of proper contextualization as regards to events of global ramifications by the corporatized mainstream media and educational institutions and expose thereby genuine historical reality by the provision of objective contextualization of current events and/or historical relevances and by going where said media and said institutions in their brazen and tendentious dereliction of duty to objectively inform neglect to go, thereby violating the public's right to learn and know, a right which is as important as the right to free speech.
Question 4.) Can you offer any advice to people having a difficult time dealing with government and media lies, especially as it pertains to so many average citizens who hold erroneous perceptions on important events and situations around the Earth?
 It is easier said than done, but the advice is, search with a wide-lens approach, the most varied sources of information and that means broadening as wide as possible, time permitting, the informational literature sources. This should be coupled to interacting on a personal basis with humans throughout the global sphere, and demanding and practicing the right to travel to societies which are vilified during certain eras, such as the Soviet Union societies were, and such as Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, and yes North Korea currently is.
Coupled to that, support as much as possible  the outlets of independently arrived at information such as Free Speech TV (only carried by DirecTV), Democracy Now, Sputnik radio (105.5 FM), Link TV, Deutsche Welle, France 24, Al Jazeera, RT, BBC, CNC, plus consider listening to short-wave radio receivers.
And do not believe it all, or be disappointed when some of the information seems not so objective.
Main thing in that case is - since as a function of this intellectual curiosity energized exercise - the marksmanship of the research becomes increasingly dramatically improved to the point that vetting (or "snoping" ) frequency necessity is gradually decreased as the initial choice of approved sources predominates.
Alfred Gluecksmann
Thank you again, Alfred ... Peace.
The Public Bank Option - Safer, Local and Half the Cost
On November 4, 2017 November 5, 2017 By Jerry AlataloIn Earth Matters, Money / Banks, New Thought, Public Banking, Solutions4 Comments
If Phil Murphy wins the New Jersey governorship and succeeds in establishing a New Jersey state-owned bank, expect a wave of public banks to follow, as more and more elected officials come to understand how banking works and to see the obvious benefits of establishing their own.
Phil Murphy, a former banker with a double-digit lead in New Jersey's race for governor, has made a state-owned bank a centerpiece of his platform. If he wins on November 7, the nation's second state-owned bank in a century could follow.
A UK study published on October 27, 2017 reported that the majority of politicians do not know where money comes from. According to City A.M. (London) :
More than three-quarters of the MPs surveyed incorrectly believed that only the government has the ability to create new money. . . .
The Bank of England has previously intervened to point out that most money in the UK begins as a bank loan. In a 2014 article the Bank pointed out that "whenever a bank makes a loan, it simultaneously creates a matching deposit in the borrower's bank account, thereby creating new money."
The Bank of England researchers said that...


Press Release: Michael Kaeshammer - February 23
Gesa Power House Theatre presents Michael Kaeshammer in concert on Friday, February 23, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.
Michael Kaeshammer is a Canadian jazz & boogie-woogie pianist, vocalist, composer, arranger and producer with an international following. He's a piano virtuoso with a technical mastery of many different styles, an eloquent singer/songwriter, and a charming and engaging performer.
"For me the performance is as much about the energy coming off the stage as the energy coming from the audience," says Kaeshammer. "It's about being myself, writing from the heart and showing my love for life."
Kaeshammer's goal during a live performance is to entertain, inform, and include the audience. As the Montreal Gazette's Bernard Perusse says: "He's a showman. And showmanship is what makes people talk... If you haven't seen him live, you haven't really experienced him in his true element."
Kaeshammer first made his own mark as a young piano prodigy. Growing up in Offenburg, Germany, he studied classical piano for seven years prior to falling in love at 13 with the boogie-woogie and stride piano stylings of such greats as Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, and Meade Lux Lewis. A quick study, Michael soon became skilled enough in this style to perform it in clubs, concerts and festivals through Germany and beyond. When his parents moved the family to British Columbia, Canada, Kaeshammer quickly attracted a following there, becoming popular on the jazz and blues festivals circuit.
With his recording career now spanning two full decades, Kaeshammer has emerged as a truly original artist at the very top of his game, and one in love with the creative process. He last performed at Gesa Power House Theatre in 2013.
Reserved seating tickets ($45-$40) are available online () or by calling the box office at 509-529-6500.
The 2018 Season is supported in part by: KAPP-KVEW, Coldwell Banker First Realtors, Foundry Vineyards, Courtyard Marriott, Inland Cellular, Pacific Power, McCurley Integrity Toyota of Walla Walla.
About the Gesa Power House Theatre
The historic Gesa Power House Theatre is a 300-seat performing arts venue, located in downtown Walla Walla. The 120-year-old building was once the Walla Walla Gas Plant, built to produce coal gas used to light the streets, businesses, and homes of Walla Walla. In 2011 the Gesa Power House Theatre building was transformed into a state-of-the-art playhouse for live performance. The interior design of the theatre was inspired by Shakespeare's own intimate Blackfriars Theatre in London, England.
The Gesa Power House Theatre is on the Washington State Building Preservation Commission list of State historic buildings and on the National Register of Historic Places. The venue also hosts a variety of other cultural events, musical concerts, and private events (including weddings).
For additional marketing and media information, including interviews and hi-res images, contact:
Bradley Nelson

Gesa Power House Theatre
111 North Sixth Ave.
Walla Walla, Washington 99362


Terahertz spectroscopy - the new tool to detect art fraud
by Roger Lewis, The Conversation
The pigments can look very different when viewed with terahertz 'eyes'. Credit: Shutterstock/Garry0305
When we look at a painting, how do we know it's a genuine piece of art?
Everything we see with the unaided eye in a painting - from the Australian outback images of Albert Namatjira or Russell Drysdale, to the vibrant works of Pro Hart - is thanks to the mix of colours that form part of the visible spectrum.
But if we look at the painting in a different way, at a part of the spectrum that is invisible to our eyes, then we can see something very different.
As our recently published research shows, it could even help us detect art fraud.
A matter of frequency
The electromagnetic spectrum ranges from very high-frequency gamma rays down to the extremely low-frequency radiation of just a few hertz. Hertz is the unit of measurement for frequency.
The frequency of colours in the visible spectrum range from blue, at about 800 terahertz (THz), through to red at about 400THz (1 THz = 1012 or 1,000,000,000,000 hertz).
If we drop to frequencies below the visible spectrum we find the near-infrared at about 300THz and then the mid-infrared at about 30THz.
Then comes the far-infrared and at last we meet the frequencies around 1THz.
Continuing even further brings us to microwaves and radio waves where frequencies range from the gigahertz down to kilohertz. Thus the terahertz part of the electromagnetic spectrum lies between the radio and the visible parts - in other words, between electronics and photonics.
Things can look very different when viewed with "eyes" that can see in the terahertz range. Some things that are transparent to visible light, such as water, are opaque to terahertz light.
Conversely, some things that visible light won't penetrate, such as black plastic, readily transmit terahertz radiation.
Intriguingly, two objects that have the same colour when viewed by the unassisted eye may transmit terahertz radiation differently. So their terahertz signal can be used to tell them apart.
Pigments and colour
This points to the potential use of terahertz radiation in differentiating paints and pigments. Terahertz spectroscopy can distinguish different pigments with similar colours.
We recently used terahertz spectroscopy to distinguish between three related pigments. All come from a family of chemical compounds called quinacridones. These are used widely in producing stable, reproducible pigments that range in colour from red to violet.
Measurements at the University of Wollongong provided the experimental data in the range of 1THz to 10THz. Numerical modelling at Syracuse University (New York) reproduced the experimental data, and gave physical insight into the origin of the features observed.
The combined experimental and theoretical work, published last month in the Journal of Physical Chemistry, unequivocally demonstrates that terahertz spectroscopy is able to distinguish three different quinacridones.
This brings us to the subject of art authentication - or more importantly, detecting cases of art fraud.
Art fraud
Museums, galleries and collectors are typically very protective of their art collections, but terahertz spectroscopy is well suited to examining their works.
While terahertz spectrometers are often located in laboratories, there are also portable models.
The terahertz (1012) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Credit: The Conversation, CC BY-ND
Unlike an analysis that requires removing and consuming some material (by reacting it with chemicals, or burning it), there is no contact made with the material, and thus no harm done to the artwork.
The terahertz radiation simply shines on the painting, and the transmitted radiation is measured. The low energy and low density of terahertz radiation means that the painting is not damaged in any way.
This all makes it suitable for examining art in a way that does not damage it and can be performed where it is located - in a gallery, or home, or almost anywhere.
From theory to practice
So how can terahertz spectroscopy assist in detecting art fraud in practice?
Here's an example. Let's say terahertz spectroscopy picks up a quinacridone pigment in a painting. Quinacridone is an artificial material that was first synthesised in 1935, so the painting must date from 1935 or later.
Any claim that the painting is a work by Leonardo da Vinci (who died in 1519), Vincent van Gogh (died 1890) or Claude Monet (died 1926) could therefore be dismissed. Any claim the the work was by an artist who worked after 1935 could not be so easily disproved on this basis.
Of course, other physical methods than terahertz spectroscopy may be applied to analyse paintings. One direct way to analyse art work is by sophisticated, quantitative measurements of the visible spectrum.
Artworks may also be interrogated by other species of light that lie above the blue end visible spectrum. Here the ultraviolet (uv) photons are higher in energy than visible photons. That means they can put energy into a material that is re-radiated as visible photons.
This is the phenomenon of fluorescence, and uv-fluorescence is an established tool in art conservation.
Moving further above the ultraviolet, X-rays may be used to examine works of art. For example, X-ray fluorescence at the Australian Synchrotron has been used to find hidden layers in works by Degas and Streeton.
A genuine fake?
There are many aspects to authenticating an artwork, the physical examination being but one of them.
Nonetheless, technical analysis of the materials used - the paints, the canvas, the frames - plays a fundamental role, and that is where terahertz spectroscopy contributes.
But other approaches also play a role. For example, documentation such as records of sales may provide key evidence, as may the more subtle appraisal of style by art historians.
The perceptions of people who assess and buy art is itself an important factor. The word of the artist might be thought to be definitive, but even this has been overruled by expert opinion, as in the case of Lucian Freud.
Finally, the legal dimension is critical, as has been reported recently in the quashing of the art fraud convictions of Peter Gant and Mohamed Siddique. These related to the paintings Blue Lavender Bay, Orange Lavender Bay, and Through the Window. At issue was whether the paintings were the work of Brett Whiteley.
Of course, art fraud is just one application of terahertz spectroscopy. There are many more.
Able to penetrate paper and cardboard, terahertz radiation can be used to look inside envelopes for contraband, or inside packaged food for contamination.
Terahertz methods have been used to assess burns and to monitor the hydration of plants.
As better terahertz sources, detectors and components are developed, the range of applications will further expand.
Researchers nearly double the continuous output power of a type of terahertz laser
Provided by The Conversation
Citation: Terahertz spectroscopy - the new tool to detect art fraud (2017, May 15) retrieved 15 July 2019 from
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Fingerprint of dissolved glycine in the Terahertz range explained
Designing sensors to detect foreign bodies in food
Towards mastering terahertz waves?
Wave of the future: Terahertz chips a new way of seeing through matter
New device converts DC electric field to terahertz radiation


63 posts categorized "Youth Development"
'College Means Hope': A Path Forward for the Justice-Involved
"Former gang members make incredible students. The same skills that made me a good drug-dealer  -  resiliency, hustle, determination  -  I now use on campus to succeed in school," Jesse Fernandez tells the audience attending our panel discussion at this year's Gang Prevention and Intervention Conference in Long Beach.
I was on stage with Jesse as co-moderator for the first education-focused panel in the conference's history. (The Michelson 20MM Foundation convened the panel, tapping Jesse, Taffany Lim of California State University, Los Angeles, and Brittany Morton of Homeboy Industries to share their experiences.) Only 25, he has come a long way from the gang life he once knew. Today, he interns for Homeboy Industries, helping other students on their path to college, has finished an associate's program in Los Angeles, and has studied abroad at Oxford University. He may not look like a typical college student, but he speaks with the certainty and eloquence of someone who has been in school for years.
"College means hope. It means understanding your identity. For me, it was learning about my indigenous heritage, what it means to be Chicano, and how my community has been affected by violence and loss."
I first met Jesse over a lunch of chilaquiles (with salsa verde) and agua fresca (Angela's Green Potion is a "do not miss") at Homegirl Café, an L.A. staple since the 1990s. The café is run by former gang members and offers a safe space for people coming out of prison, providing many of them with their first job, creating a pipeline to sustainable employment. It's so popular that Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and other politicians on the national stage have stopped in for a bite while in town.
Jesse is one of thousands of justice-involved students attending college in California. The exact number is unknown, as public colleges in the state do not require the disclosure of a criminal history. Many students choose to self-identify in order to take advantage of resources specific to the justice-involved population. Others, says Morton, academic program coordinator for Homeboy, are still trying to overcome the perceived "stigma" of having been incarcerated.
"Imagine getting released from prison after twenty-plus years on the inside, and you've never used a computer before. Then you get to campus, and every form, assignment, and application is online. It's intimidating for people and there is a lot of shame connected to these experiences."
It's estimated that 53 percent of formerly incarcerated people have a high school diploma or GED, yet fewer than 5 percent have completed college (Vera Institute of Justice). Persistence in postsecondary education is fraught with challenges, especially for non-traditional students. The typical formerly incarcerated person has served more than two years in prison, has at least one minor child, and is over the age of 30. In the year after their release, they earn around $9,000 in wages. A year of community college in California costs around $10,000, putting postsecondary opportunities squarely out of reach for most people who have served time.
That's where peer-led organizations like Homeboy Industries, Project Rebound, and Underground Scholars come into play. All three not only provide a physical space and financial resources to help justice-involved students graduate, they also cultivate a sense of belonging and deserving that stretches far beyond campus.
"The first thing people think when they hear about college opportunities for 'felons' is, why?" says Morton. "Why waste your resources on people who have messed up time and time again. Why focus on college when people with a criminal record can't even find jobs or stable housing. Why? My response is always, why not? Why not give people who have been let down by our education system a first chance at success? Why not help them become leaders, change-makers, peer mentors. Why not give them a sense of hope that they can strive higher and make an impact."
What's more, the programs have proven to be successful  -  for students, colleges, and even for taxpayers. Initial outcomes data demonstrates that programs for justice-involved students help keep students enrolled, out of incarceration, and on a path to economic stability. They also save money. For every $1 invested in correctional education, there is a resulting $4 to $5 return in avoided costs from reduced recidivism and increased employment.
While California has led the country in providing resources to justice-involved students, we still have a long way to go. Recent legislative efforts in Sacramento have helped catalyze a new push for expanded postsecondary opportunities. If enacted by the state legislature, the Smart Justice Student Fund would provide an additional $25 million to community colleges in support of justice-involved students both on campus and in prison.
This winter, Jesse Fernandez will be continuing his education at the University of California, Berkeley, where he hopes to major in Chicano Studies. He says he has already connected with other students on campus who were formerly incarcerated  -  and that has made it "easier to imagine the day-to-day of being a full-time college student at a place like Berkeley."
In a few years, Jesse will be part of a new generation of justice-impacted college students who strive to become leaders and visionaries in the fight for criminal justice reform in the United States. The first step is helping the public understand that people who are incarcerated deserve opportunities to better themselves above and beyond the limitations and barriers our systems have placed on them.
Allison Berger is program officer for the Michelson 20MM Foundation's Smart Justice program.
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Youth Apprenticeship: Accelerating a Path to College and Career Success
We seem to have reached a consensus that, in today's economy, it's nearly impossible to secure a quality job and get on the path to economic stability without postsecondary education. But the reality of student loan debt and surveys which show college graduates don't feel prepared for their career of choice challenges the narrative that a successful future is intrinsically linked to a college degree.
Reality is also hitting employers' bottom lines as businesses of all sizes and in a variety of fields, including information technology, manufacturing, finance, and healthcare, struggle to fill good-paying positions. The pipeline that used to lead young people through high school and, ultimately, to the skills needed to secure those jobs is broken  -  and it might not have ever worked equitably, anyway.
It's clear our country needs additional, widely accessible postsecondary options that provide young people with the foundational skills, experiences, and credentials they need to thrive in a rapidly changing economy.
K-12 systems, institutions of higher education, and industries alike have been searching for solutions that reflect the current and future state of work, with little success. For decades, philanthropy has been investing to improve educational outcomes and college access, and it, too, recognizes that new approaches are needed, and fast.
That's why we funded the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA), a multi-stakeholder New America-led initiative to promote more equitable and sustainable pathways to economic mobility. PAYA aims to do this by partnering with educators and employers to build more scalable long-term solutions that have been proven to help youth acquire the skills they need to navigate the rapidly changing world of work.
Youth apprenticeship aligns the needs of young people with the talent needs of employers. It builds on what is working in K-12, higher education, and work-based learning. Young people earn a high school diploma, gain paid real-world work experience, and earn college credit and credentials, at no cost to them or their families.
Far from an alternative to college, these programs can be a direct and less costly route through college, expanding rather than limiting students' future options. Apprenticeships can expand career options and economic opportunity for young people of color and others for whom it's mostly out of reach. Apprenticeship also keeps youth engaged in school and the workplace while earning a wage.
There is growing evidence that paid work experience really matters, especially for youth from underresourced communities. A recent analysis by the Brookings Institution and Child Trends underscores the importance of paid work-experience in connecting students to mentors and networks early in their careers, setting them on a path to long-term success.
We know we're onto something. In March 2019 we issued an RFP for PAYA's high-quality youth apprenticeship grants and received more than two hundred applications from forty-nine states and Puerto Rico. We have been floored by the response from states, cities, and regions across the country that have expressed real interest in launching or expanding youth apprenticeship programs.
In May 2019, PAYA awarded nearly $1.2 million in initial grants to expand pathways for high-school age youth to succeed in college and the workforce. The grants will support local employers, educators, community partners, and policy leaders who are working to build high-quality youth apprenticeship programs that promote inclusive economic development and create new opportunities for young people. By connecting these innovators, we hope to capture and disseminate best practices for students, employers, and communities that help them dramatically accelerate the pace of implementation.
We see youth apprenticeship as a rare and promising combination of the past and the future. Reinvented to address student disengagement, the need for greater diversity, and accountability to low-income students and students of color, youth apprenticeship deserves support from private funders, governments, and industry. As funders and believers in finding solutions to our ongoing struggle to provide educational and economic opportunity, we're planting a flag and invite others to join us in the cause.
This post represents the views of funders of the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship, which include Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Ballmer Group, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and the Siemens Foundation. To learn more about the initiative, see the PAYA website.
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Building the Power of Immigrants and Youth of Color
Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network (SIREN) - Bay Area has spent the last several years building the political power of immigrant and youth voters with the aim of shifting the political landscape in the region and across the state. In 2018, we doubled down on our commitment to building this political muscle by registering more than fifteen thousand new immigrant and youth voters, contacting a hundred and sixty thousand already-registered voters, and mobilizing more than two hundred volunteers. In the 2018 midterm elections, our efforts helped generate one of the highest turnouts in state history for a midterm and resulted in the passage of critical local and state ballot measures, as well as the defeat of House members opposed to immigrant rights.
One of SIREN's youth leaders, Miguel, participated in phone banking and door-to-door canvassing of Spanish-speaking voters. Although Miguel and his family cannot vote because of their immigration status, the day after the election he told us: "The community was my voice at the polls yesterday. Immigrants and youth came out and demonstrated our power in Northern California and the Central Valley. Through our voting power, we are passing policies in our state and region that are impacting our families, and we will carry our momentum into 2019 to fight for immigrant rights and protections for immigrant youth."
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Don't Wait Until 2020 to Invest in Youth Leaders
For anyone interested in increasing youth civic engagement, the midterm elections are a cause for celebration. In the election,
31 percent of youth (ages 18-29) voted  -  according to at least one source, the highest level of participation among youth in the past quarter-century.
Traditionally, support for youth civic engagement declines at the end of an election cycle and resumes as the next cycle starts to heat up  -  along with thought pieces about why young people don't vote. To break this pattern, I offer a suggestion: increase investment in youth organizing groups now; don't wait until 2020.
The country is in the middle of a massive demographic shift, with young people of color the fastest-growing segment of the population. The key to developing a robust and inclusive democracy that reflects this shift is to support the active civic participation and leadership of this group. And the best way to do that is not to wait until the start of the next election cycle to pour millions of dollars into advertising to reach young voters.
Instead, we should support organizations led by young people of color that are engaged in year-round organizing around both voter engagement campaigns and efforts to address issues in their local communities. Issue campaigns focused on quality schools, immigrants' rights, ending mass incarceration, and preserving reproductive rights are what motivate young people to become engaged in the world around them and, by extension, the electoral process.
Take the Power U Center for Social Change and Dream Defenders, youth organizing groups in Florida that have been organizing to end mass incarceration and the school-to-prison-pipeline. In the lead up to the midterms, both groups worked tirelessly in support of a ballot measure to restore voting eligibility to formerly convicted persons, and as a result 1.4 million people in Florida have had their voting rights restored. If those ex-offenders are organized effectively, most of them will vote  -  and in ways, hopefully, that strengthen their communities.
From where I sit, there are three reasons to double down on investments in youth organizing groups:
Youth organizers are good at engaging voters of all ages. Some youth organizing groups have focused on engaging young voters; others are organizing whole communities. Power California, a statewide alliance of more than twenty-five organizations, works to harness the power of young voters of color and their families. Between September and November, the organization and its partners worked in forty counties to get young Californians to head to the polls and make their voices heard on issues that affect them. Through phone calls, texting, and targeted social media, the organization talked to more than a hundred and fifteen thousand young voters and registered and pre-registered more than twenty-five thousand young people of color. Other organizations such as Poder in Action in Phoenix, Arizona, engaged young people in their communities because these young people are knowledgeable and passionate about the issues in play and serve as highly effective messengers. Our takeaway: investing in youth leaders generates results, now and for decades to come.
Engaging the pre-electorate now increases civic participation in the future. Many of the young people organizing and canvassing with grantees of the Funders' Collaborative for Youth Organizing were ineligible to vote because they hadn't turned 18. But while they weren't old enough to cast a ballot, many of them were active in knocking on doors and making calls to encourage others to vote. Today's 16- and 17-year-olds will be voting in 2020, and we should be supporting organizations working to engage them. These organizations are a vital resource for developing the next generation of civic leaders.
Youth organizers play a vital role in connecting issues and voting. Over the last several years, we've seen the emergence of a number of organizations that are organizing young people of color around issues in their communities and helping them engage electorally as part of a broader goal of creating a just and equitable society. These groups are developing the next generation of young leaders, organizing campaigns aimed at improving quality of life in their communities, and encouraging people, young and old, to get out and vote. Recent research shows that this kind of organizing is one of the best ways to support the academic growth, social and emotional development, and civic engagement of young people, and these groups are our best hope for actively engaging young people today, as well as developing a pipeline of leaders equipped to solve future challenges.
Unfortunately, funding for this work has been sporadic, often showing up  -  in insufficient amounts  -  just before elections and then disappearing as soon as the last vote has been counted. To build a just and inclusive society, we must make a significant, long-term investment in the leadership of young people of color willing to organize around issues and engage voters, both young and old.
The 2018 election cycle has come to an end. Our investment in youth organizing shouldn't. It is time to get serious about supporting the next generation of leaders.
By 2020, it'll be too late.
Eric Braxton is executive director of the Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing, a collective of social justice funders and youth organizing practitioners that works to advance youth organizing as a strategy for youth development and social change.
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5 Questions for... David Egner, President/CEO, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation
Established by the late owner of the NFL's Buffalo Bills with more than a billion dollars in assets, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation plans to spend those assets down, with a focus on western New York state and southeastern Michigan, by 2035.
David Egner was appointed president and CEO of the foundation in 2015, having served prior to that as president and CEO of the Detroit-based Hudson Webber Foundation. A fixture in Michigan philanthropy for decades, first as an executive assistant to longtime W.K. Kellogg Foundation CEO Russ Mawby, then as director of the Michigan Nonprofit Association and executive director of the New Economy Initiative, Egner is using his extensive knowledge, experience, and connections to make the Detroit and Buffalo metro region better places to live and work.
PND recently spoke with Egner about Ralph Wilson and his vision for the foundation and the two regions he loved and called home.
Philanthropy News Digest: Who was Ralph C. Wilson? And what was his connection to Buffalo and southeastern Michigan, the two regions on which the foundation focuses most of its giving?
David Egner: Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. was a tremendously successful businessman and the beloved founder and former owner of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills.
The four life trustees he appointed to lead the foundation decided to focus its giving in the Detroit and Buffalo regions  -  southeastern Michigan and western New York  -  where Mr. Wilson spent most of his life and was the most emotionally invested. He had called metro Detroit home since he was two, and Buffalo became a second home after 1959 through his ownership of the Bills.
But above all, he's remembered for being a lover of people and of everyday difference makers. We want the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to be a testament to his spirit, and that ethos helps guide who we are, what we do, and how we help shape communities.
PND: Why did Mr. Wilson, who lived to be 95, decide to structure the foundation as a limited lifespan foundation?
DE: It was a very personal decision. First and foremost, it was born out of his desire to have an impact on everything he touched. Doing so ensures that the foundation's work will be completed within the lifetimes of the people who knew him best, our four life trustees, and that its impact will be immediate, substantial, and measurable.
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[Review] 'You Can't Be What You Can't See: The Power of Opportunity to Change Young Lives'
Concrete, practicable solutions to society's urgent challenges are rare, in part because the debate around such issues too often is driven by philosophical differences and partisan political calculation. What is needed instead are compelling stories that explain those challenges through the eyes of the people affected and suggest possible solutions based on their lived reality. You Cant Be What You Can't See, by Milbrey W. McLaughlin, tells one such story.
In the book, McLaughlin, the David Jack Professor Emeritus of Education and Public Policy at Stanford University and founding director of the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities, documents what happened to more than seven hundred young people from Chicago's Cabrini-Green public housing project who participated in CYCLE, an out-of-school-time tutoring program started in 1978 in the basement of Cabrini-Green's LaSalle Street Church. Over the next decade and a half the program evolved into a comprehensive afterschool and summer support program for neighborhood youth, the history of which McLaughlin traces through the lives of the young people who participated. Along the way, we learn, through the kids' own voices, how the program altered the trajectory of their lives for the better.
For much of its existence, Cabrini-Green  -  which comprised the Frances Cabrini Row-houses and the William Green Homes  -  was portrayed by the national media as a sort of urban version of the Wild West, a place where crime, drugs, and guns were all-too-common and lawlessness prevailed. Like many narratives, this one was overly simplistic. McLaughlin starts her story at the beginning, in the early 1940s, when the Chicago Housing Project built Cabrini-Green "to replace the crime-ridden slum widely known as Little Hell with clean, family-friendly, affordable housing" for (mostly) white families. As those families grew more prosperous in the post-WWII boom and began moving to suburbs, low-income black families, many on public assistance, moved in.
The 1950s and 1960s were "a time of hope and relative racial calm" in Cabrini-Green. The two-story row houses were a great option for low-income families with children, and major high-rise expansions of the complex in 1958 and 1962 meant that more low-income families could afford to live there. "It was paradise compared to what you had before," remembers Craig Nash, a CYCLE alum who became coordinator of CYCLE's I Have Dream scholarship program. "When the high-rises first went up, they were beautiful. There were trees, there were families  -  mother, father, children, working families."
But over time, the effects of the "redlining" practices that were common at the Chicago Housing Authority during the period began to shift "the make-up of Cabrini-Green from the 1960s-era community of two-parent, working families to, by the late 1970s, "an economically, racially, and socially segregated" series of projects comprising thousands of units, mostly occupied by struggling black single mothers. "Neighborhoods are not accidents," Tim Huizenga, an early CYCLE board member, told McLaughlin. "They are the products of systematic sorting processes....For a while, the high-rises were decent places to live. But, for a variety of reasons, eventually they became the place where people that just had no options were living." As the condition of the buildings and in the neighborhood declined along with expectations, gang violence, teenage pregnancy rates, and social and institutional isolation increased, creating a toxic dynamic that fed on itself.
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CBMA Turns 10: A Decade of Daring Work for Black Male Achievement
This month, the Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA) marks ten years of progress: catalyzing more than $200 million in investment in black male achievement while building a national movement to eliminate barriers to the success of African-American men and boys.
From the beginning, we committed to building beloved communities across America where black men and boys are healthy, thriving, and empowered to achieve their fullest potential  -  that is our core mission and rallying cry.
Leaders in philanthropy, government, and business were not always as focused on mobilizing the necessary investment to ensure that black men and boys  -  and boys and men of color more broadly  -  were recognized as assets to our communities and country. That's why in 2008, at the Open Society Foundations, we launched CBMA in response to the growing need we saw in cities and communities across the nation where outcomes for black men and boys lagged far behind those of their white counterparts in all areas, including education, health, safety, jobs, and criminal justice involvement.
Over the last decade, together with our partners, we have catalyzed multiple national initiatives, including the Executives' Alliance for Boys and Young Men of Color, the BMe Community, and Cities United. We played an instrumental role in helping former President Barack Obama launch My Brother's Keeper, an initiative developed in the wake of his speech in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the murder trial of Trayvon Martin  -  asking ourselves, "How should philanthropy respond to Obama's speech on black men and boys?"
CBMA was spun off from OSF as an independent entity in 2015, and today our work resides at the intersection of movement and field building, bolstered by a membership network of more than five thousand leaders and three thousand organizational partners. Our network includes inspired individuals like Robert Holmes, who directs the Chicago Aviation Career Education Academy at the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals. In partnering with CBMA, Holmes has widened the reach of his efforts to create an educational pathway for young black men interested in becoming pilots, helping diversify a critical industry that has little to no black male representation.
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It's Time to Invest in Youth Leaders
In the months since the tragic mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, the response of youth activists has captured the attention of the nation. What has largely gone unnoticed, however, is that across the country a dynamic youth-organizing field has emerged. Over the past twenty years, groups  -  many of them led by low-income young people of color  -  have been organizing to improve education, end the school-to-prison pipeline, protect immigrant rights, and address other critical issues.
New research demonstrates that not only does youth organizing result in concrete policy changes, it also promotes positive academic, social/emotional, and civic engagement outcomes. Yet despite recent investment in youth organizing from funders like the Ford Foundation and the California Endowment, overall funding remains modest. That's unfortunate, because even as a new generation demonstrates its willingness to take on some of our toughest issues, the need for investment in the leadership of young people, especially those most impacted by injustice, has never been more important.
According to the Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing's National Youth Organizing Landscape Map, there are more than two hundred youth organizing groups across the country, the majority of them focused on middle and high school students of color. These groups support the development of young leaders and organize campaigns to address inequity in their communities. In Los Angeles, Inner City Struggle and Community Coalition led the campaign to ensure a rigorous college preparatory curriculum for all students. Groups such as Communities United in Chicago, Padres y Jovenes Unidos in Denver, and the Philadelphia Student Union have gotten their school districts to create policies that address racial disparities in school discipline, resulting in changes that have benefited hundreds of thousands of students.
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Cities Are Raising the Bar and Building Beloved Communities Where Black Men and Boys Can Thrive
To build beloved communities across America where black men and boys are healthy, thriving, and able to achieve their fullest potential  -  that is the Campaign for Black Male Achievement's (CBMA) core mission and rallying cry.
CBMA's work is driven by the unwavering belief that black men and boys are assets to our communities and our country, that they possess untapped potential and brilliance, and that they thrive when given opportunities to succeed. We cannot truly prosper as a nation when any group is left behind and forced to exist on the fringes of society. The well-being of black men and boys is directly connected to the well-being and strength of our families, communities, and nation as a whole.
Over the past decade, CBMA has supported leaders in cities across the United States who are working to accelerate positive life outcomes for black men and boys and whose efforts are moving the needle in measurable ways. To chart and track the progress happening in these cities, in 2015 CBMA developed the Black Male Achievement (BMA) City Index, which scores cities based on their level of engagement with and investment in black men and boys. In conjunction with the new index, we released Promise of Place, a first-of-its-kind report series that assessed commitments and targeted initiatives across fifty cities focused on supporting black men and boys. A few weeks ago, we released a follow-up report, Promise of Place: Building Beloved Communities for Black Men and Boys, that explores whether those cities are keeping their promises. Encouragingly, we have found that most cities have in fact increased their investments and actions in support of black men and boys.
The new Promise of Place report finds that, since 2015, 62 percent of the cities included in the index have ramped up their efforts to support black males across a variety of focus areas and needs, with scores based on five key indicators: demographic mix, commitment to black men and boys, presence of national initiatives supporting black men and boys, targeted funding supporting black men and boys, and CBMA membership. Detroit and Washington, D.C., remain the two highest scoring cities, each with a score of 95, while Jackson (Mississippi), Seattle (Washington), Omaha (Nebraska), and Mobile (Alabama) saw the greatest improvements in their scores. Cities not captured in the first report  -  including Denver and Yonkers, New York  -  have since become highly engaged in leading black male achievement efforts.
To be clear, the BMA City Index is not a ranking of which cities are doing the best with respect to this work. Rather, it is meant to serve as a starting point to see what commitments and engagements cities are making to black men and boys. It is imperative that city and community leaders hold their cities accountable to these commitments and continue to collaborate on measuring the impact of their efforts.
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[Review] 'Teach to Work: How a Mentor, a Mentee, and a Project Can Close the Skills Gap in America'
When you're able to do something that sparks your passion and leverages your skill set, it feels pretty good. When you can make a living doing it, it's even better. But getting to that place can be hard; you have to have opportunities to learn a new skill or stretch a new muscle, learn from the experience, and improve. I've been lucky to have had some great mentors, informal and formal, who have guided me through such learning experiences  -  from a cross country coach who taught me that slow and steady will get you to the finish line (if not always win the race), to entrepreneurial friends who offered marketing tips for my side hustles, to my parents, who stressed to me the importance of writing thank-you notes. Many young people, however, aren't as lucky to have received the kind of coaching that can give them the confidence and skills to tackle new or unexpected challenges. That's where mentoring programs can provide significant value; they provide learning opportunities to young people who may not otherwise have them.
Patty Alper is a seasoned mentor with fifteen years of experience mentoring inner-city high school students. She's "adopted" classrooms through Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), an international nonprofit organization that I first learned about in the Mary Mazzio documentary Ten9Eight. The film showcases the transformational learning that happens when students are given the opportunity to create a business, benefit from a curriculum that allows them to dive into critical skills, and have a supportive adult serve as their mentor during the process. As an NFTE donor and board volunteer, Alper wanted to "allow supporters [of the organization] to go beyond financial giving and share their knowledge as well," so she created an Adopt-a-Class program that recruits professionals to sponsor an entrepreneurship class, work with teachers, and commit to mentoring students for a full academic year. I remember being struck by how many of the kids featured in Ten9Eight went from expressing little hope about their future to confidently tackling and successfully delivering a big on-stage presentation about the businesses they had created. Seeing the obvious pride and sense of accomplishment in these young people, it's easy to overlook the other piece of the story, which, I confess, I had done until I picked up Alper's new book, Teach to Work: How a Mentor, a Mentee, and a Project Can Close the Skills Gap in America. But once I started reading, it didn't take long for me to be persuaded that mentoring involves both art and science, and that done well, it can truly unlock the potential of underserved youth.
For many, the act of mentoring is something one just does, based on one's hard-won experience. But in her book, Alper takes a very granular, how-to approach to mentoring, starting with this key bit of advice: one of the best things a mentor can do is to listen and not share everything she has learned over the years with her mentee. (Note: Alper relies on an adult-student framework throughout the book and, unfortunately, does not touch on any other kind of mentor-mentee relationship. As the book is based on a particular model of mentorship, so, too, does this review.)
"The fastest way to turn kids off is to tell them how great you are," Alper writes. Instead, mentors should relate to their mentees as "peers." You do that, she adds, by telling them, "[Y]ou are the boss. You can accept or reject my suggestions because this is your project. What I bring to bear is experience, ideas, and support. We can brainstorm, but the ultimate decisions here are yours."
That's only a start, though. There are lots of other things mentors need to be mindful of  -  from body language, to support systems, to hopes and dreams  -  and for each, Alper lays out solid advice designed to help mentors approach the challenge at hand in a manageable way. In a chapter about lesson planning, for example, there's a terrific line-by-line guide that adapts the Harvard Business School-developed case method into a ninety-minute classroom exercise. It's hard to tell accomplished adults they may not be good teachers or thoughtful lesson planners (a truth many of us are happy to acknowledge about others, though not ourselves), and so Alper doesn't try to tell us; she shows us instead with tools that no mentor ought to ignore.
But while her advice is grounded in deep experience and mostly useful, there are elements of it that feel outdated. A very thoughtful section on key components to establishing a one-on-one dialogue ended up falling flat for me, as there was no mention of asking a mentee herself if she had any ground rules she'd like to suggest. Without such reciprocity, the dialogue you hope to have often ends up a one-way street. Another example: the advice in a section about preparing a student for an interview ("[W]omen should wear dress slacks or a knee-length skirt with a blouse and possibly a blazer, or a dress...also wear low heels") and, in a later section, about dressing for presentations ("What is inappropriate? Clothing that is too sexy, too baggy, too dirty, too ripped, too short, or too bare") felt too prescriptive and gendered. Like most of the examples Alper provides in the book, this one is more appropriate for "traditional" professions and contexts, even though the book purports to be about preparing students to pursue any passion and path. And finally, Alper tries so hard at times to be actionably prescriptive that she loses sight of the human touch that, as she reminds readers elsewhere, is essential to successful mentoring. (Do kids actually say, "How do you do?")
That raises another question: Beyond the grateful letters from students she cites throughout the book, did Alper consult young people about what works (and what doesn't) when writing it? After all, feedback loops are embedded in the mentorship process for mentees, but I wonder whether the same can be said for mentors, or whether the inevitable power differential in any mentor-mentee relationship makes that difficult. And how might authentic feedback be obtained and heard? While there's a nice suggestion for reflective debriefing at the end of each program (a group meal outside the school setting, with some reflective questions kept handy on an index card), it doesn't seem to provide sufficient space for meaningful critique. And still another question I had is whether the pay-to-mentor model she discusses actually limits the diversity of the mentor pool? While this isn't the only model Alper discusses, it is prominent and many examples in the book seemed to refer to careers in which mentors likely could afford to sponsor a class. Which begs the question: Is there a bias in favor of mentoring among people who are paid well, have lots of social capital, and have the wherewithal to be flexible with their time and choices? And how well does such a pool of mentor candidates reflect students' passions and needs?
Those questions aside, Teach to Work left me with a renewed sense of gratitude for the mentors I've had, and pride in the mentoring I've done. There are lessons in the books that anyone  -  young or old, accomplished or with as-yet-unrealized potential  -  will find relevant to them in some way. And perhaps most powerful is the assertion implied by the book's subtitle: that the mentoring young people receive can be a lever to help close America's skills gap and bring increased diversity and talent to the workforce. As Alper's book describes and the aforementioned Ten9Eight brings to life, project-based mentorship can be transformational, and, done at scale, there's no doubt it would be a gamechanger. And, besides, this millennial is into placing big bets on solutions that will make the world a better place.
To volunteer as a mentor  -  and commit to doing it well - is about wanting to create change and catalyze potential. I would suggest there's an added value proposition: maybe mentoring a young person isn't so much a one-way learning opportunity as it is a way for us all to get smarter. Alper certainly acknowledges how much she has learned and grown from her experiences in the classroom. And as I've seen through any number of youth grantmaking programs, philanthropy as a sector has much to learn from students in terms of how they approach community needs assessments and discussions of impact. What more could we learn and apply to our own careers by pairing up with a young person who is wrestling with difficulties in her life and, with our help, coming up with her own solutions to those challenges?
Jen Bokoff is director of stakeholder engagement at Foundation Center. For more great reviews, visit the Off the Shelf section in PND.
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5 Questions for...Alma Powell, Chair, America's Promise Alliance
America's Promise Alliance, the nation's largest network dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth, is marking its twentieth anniversary on April 18 with a Recommit to Kids Summit and Promise Night Gala in New York City. PND spoke via email with Alma Powell, the network's chairwoman, about its work, the progress it has made toward its goals over the last twenty years, and what every American can do to help.
Philanthropy News Digest: A lot has changed since America's Promise was founded twenty years ago. Are the Five Promises to America's children and youth announced at the Presidents' Summit for America's Future in Philadelphia in April 1997  -  caring adults, safe places to learn and play, a healthy start, an effective education, and an opportunity to serve  -  as relevant today as they were twenty years ago? And what, if anything, would you add to those five promises?
Alma Powell: The Five Promises are just as relevant and necessary today as they were twenty years ago. I can't imagine that ever changing. They are rooted in both sound social science and common sense and represent the minimal conditions that every child, in every neighborhood, has a right to expect. If these objectives aren't met, it is not the fault of children; it is a collective failure of adults in this country.
I wouldn't add another promise to the five. When it comes to young people, we don't need to reinvent the wheel. We need to summon the will.
PND: Of the five commitments that form the core of the organization's mission, which has been kept most successfully, and where has progress been unexpectedly difficult?
AP: Thanks to the work of researchers and youth development experts, we know a lot more about what young people need to thrive. Better data helps us pinpoint educational problems by school district, school, and student, enabling us to focus help exactly where it is most needed. At the same time, more nonprofits and other organizations are involved in this work than ever before; advances in neuroscience have opened new windows into how children learn and have underscored the importance of the early childhood years; and scientific breakthroughs on the impact of adversity, high levels of stress, and trauma have taught us a lot about why some students struggle and how they might be helped.
All that has led to progress. Today, infant and child mortality rates are lower, rates of smoking and alcohol use among teens are lower, and high school graduation rates are up. More young people are living in homes with parents who graduated high school, and more students are attending college.
But there's more work to do. The child poverty rate is about the same as it was twenty years ago, snd social and economic mobility has stagnated. If we're to help more young people get on a more sustainable path to the middle class, we need to address the issues behind generational poverty and its long-term effects on young people.
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Moving the Needle on Youth Violence
According to the Giving USA Foundation and Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Americans gave as generously as ever in 2015, setting a record for the second year in a row with total giving of $373.25 billion. That wasn't enough, however, to prevent problems such as income inequality, racism, and, here in Chicago, gun violence, from becoming even more entrenched. Which is why it is so important for donors and funders to do whatever they can to ensure that their charitable donations are making a measurable difference in addressing these and other challenges.
At Get IN Chicago, we use an evidence-based approach to move the needle on youth violence and, since 2013, have provided feedback and capacity-building support to community-based organizations providing a range of youth-focused services and interventions, from mentoring and parenting programs to community sports leagues and trauma-focused therapy.
Thanks to over two years of research and data collection and our work with more than sixty community organizations, anti-violence experts, and donor partners, we have developed five key recommendations for organizations looking to fund anti-violence initiatives and maximize the impact created by that support. Using these criteria to ensure programs' effectiveness, in 2017 we will be collaborating with more than twenty agencies to bring intensive case management, intake, mentoring, and cognitive behavioral therapy programs to high-risk youth in seven Chicago neighborhoods.
Based on that work, here are our recommendations for funders and donors:
1. Make sure the program you are thinking about funding actually addresses the needs of the target population you want to help. Our research shows that while most anti-violence programs work with at-risk youth, participants in those programs are not all subject to the same type or level of risk (i.e., violence or gang activity). That's why we have worked with programs to focus their efforts specifically on acutely high-risk youth  -  those at the greatest risk for gun violence, based on such factors as school absenteeism rates, mental health issues, justice system involvement, and the presence of a previously or currently incarcerated parent. Along the way, we've learned that it is essential to clearly define the population you are looking to help  -  not least because it makes it easier to develop a tailored strategy with respect to recruiting, engaging, and retaining participants from the target group, boosting your chances of success.
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Philanthropy's Responsibility to Listen
Last month, the Pittsburgh Foundation released a new report, A Qualitative Study of Youth and the Juvenile Justice System: A 100 Percent Pittsburgh Pilot Project, which calls on human services staffs, law enforcement authorities, and school officials to provide youth involved with the juvenile justice system not just a seat but a bench at the table where prevention and diversion programs are shaped and developed.
We expected the report, which builds on a substantial body of research by giants in the field such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation, to generate dialogue among our regional human services, philanthropic, and academic partners. But we were surprised that it prompted not only a local newspaper editorial but also requests for republication from an international juvenile justice organization in Brussels and a Boston-based journal that covers the nonprofit sector.
As one local advocate put it, "Who knew that talking to people would be so novel?"
The outside attention reinforces what we learned in our direct engagement with young people: their voices, which carry knowledge and authority from personal experience with the system, have been missing from the body of research on the system.
The focus on amplifying the voices of people directly affected is a core value of our 100 Percent Pittsburgh organizing principle, which we adopted in 2015 to address inequality in our region. Despite significant advances in Pittsburgh's economy, at least one-third of the regional population struggles with poverty. Research, including this 2014 Urban Institute study we commissioned, shows that youth between the ages of 12 and 24 and single women raising children are at the top of the list of groups most at risk. Young people with justice system involvement are particularly vulnerable.
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A National Day of Racial Healing on January 17 Will Help Americans Overcome Racial Divisions
Just five days before the inauguration of Donald Trump as the country's 45th president, millions of Americans on January 16 will celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For many, memories of the civil rights icon revolve around his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, in which Dr. King called for an end to racism and for the expansion of economic opportunities for all Americans.
Dr. King's brilliance  -  his strategic leadership of the civil rights movement and unparalleled courage and integrity  -  is often overshadowed by the speech that many scholars hail as the most important public address by an American in the twentieth century. Unfortunately, the dream of equality King articulated in 1963 remains unfulfilled in many communities today  -  a reality that underscores the persistent structural inequities and racial bias at the root of the widespread disparities in social conditions and opportunities for people of color.
Dr. King said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." That's the America many of us have long been working to create but, despite progress in some areas, are still seeking to realize.
The divisive rhetoric and raw emotions that raged across the country over the past year pulled the scab off a persistent wound in the American psyche, bringing the issue of race front and center and exposing the divides in our society. What can we do about it? How do we move forward on a path toward racial equity that facilitates racial healing, dismantles structural racism, and lifts vulnerable children onto the path to success?
To be sure, America has made progress over the decades. Government and the courts have enacted statutes and rulings, from Brown v. Board of Education to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Fair Housing Act of 1968, that outlawed public discrimination while purportedly guaranteeing equal opportunity for all Americans. Yet, in too many cases, these rulings only addressed the effects of racism, not its foundations. The passage of time has made clear that government and courts can enact and uphold laws, but they can't change hearts, minds, and souls.
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5 Questions for...Cecilia Clarke, President and CEO, Brooklyn Community Foundation
As grassroots movements like Black Lives Matter have emerged in recent years, the issue of racial equity has come into sharper focus.
In 2014, the Brooklyn Community Foundation launched an effort to engage more than a thousand Brooklyn residents and leaders in envisioning the foundation's role in realizing "a fair and just Brooklyn"  -  an effort that in 2015 earned BCF the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy's Impact Award for its community-led approach. Earlier this month, the foundation announced that, in alignment with its commitment to advancing racial equity across all aspects of its work, it would divest from industries that disproportionately harm people of color.
PND spoke with Cecilia Clarke, the foundation's president and CEO, about BCF's focus on racial justice, its decision to divest its portfolio of industries that disproportionately harm people of color, and the post-election role of philanthropy in advancing racial equity.
Philanthropy News Digest: Before joining BCF, you founded and led the Sadie Nash Leadership Project. Tell us a little about the project and what it sought to accomplish.
Cecilia Clarke: Sadie Nash Leadership Project is a feminist social justice organization for low-income young women in all five boroughs of New York City and Newark, New Jersey. I founded it in 2001 in my dining room here in Brooklyn, and today it's a nonprofit with a $2 million annual budget serving over two thousand young women annually. One of the organization's working assumptions is that young women are ready to be leaders in their communities right now, and Sadie Nash is there to help shape that leadership through what it calls its "sisterhood model"  -  providing a safe space, active leadership opportunities, education, and hands-on mentorship and role modeling by leaders who look like the young women themselves.
At Sadie Nash, young women serve on staff and on the board as real voting members, and  -  in addition to the organization's flagship summer institute program  -  participate in afterschool programs, fellowships, and internships. And in everything they do for and through the organization, they are paid for their leadership, because it underscores the concept that they are leaders today. Sadie Nash is not training these young women for some hoped-for future; it's important that, given their identity and their experience, we all understand that they can be a force for social change in their communities right now.
PND: In announcing its intention to divest from industries that disproportionately harm people of color, BCF specifically mentioned private prisons, gun manufacturers, and predatory lenders. What kind of impact have these industries had on communities of color and low-income communities in Brooklyn and beyond? And how do you see the divestment process playing out?
CC: To back up a bit, when I first came to BCF, it was a foundation that had only recently transitioned from being a private bank foundation to a community foundation, and it hadn't done a lot of community engagement work. Sadie Nash was very committed to engaging its constituency, and I brought that experience with me to the foundation. So, pretty early on we launched a community engagement initiative called Brooklyn Insights through which we spoke with more than a thousand Brooklynites. And what came out of that process was that there were very clear racially biased policies and practices and traditions in the community that the people who spoke with us believed had helped create and reinforce many of the other issues we were discussing, particularly around young people and criminal justice. As a community foundation, we felt we had to be responsive to what we were hearing and to look at the issues that oppress communities of color  -  which make up 70 percent of Brooklyn's population.
To that end, we created a Racial Justice Lens as an overarching focus for every aspect of the foundation's work and management, not just our programming or grantmaking. And that meant we needed to look at our investments. We decided on the three areas of divestment you mentioned after multiple conversations, but I want to make clear that we are at the beginning of the process, not at the end. We chose those three areas to begin with because they were very closely related to our program areas and our mission, especially our focus on young people and racial justice. Given our commitment to youth justice, the private prison industry was an obvious area of divestment. Gun violence is still an enormous problem in Brooklyn, with a huge number of guns being trafficked into the borough, so we felt very strongly about gun manufacturers. And looking at the significant economic inequity and lack of opportunity in our neighborhoods, we saw that check cashing and other predatory financial services were making a profit off of inequity. All three of these industries profit from racial injustice and racial inequity, and we felt very strongly that we cannot be a foundation that stands for racial justice and allow these industries to remain in our financial portfolio.
The foundation doesn't invest in individual stocks, so it isn't as if we remove private prisons and replace it with X. Our investments are managed by Goldman Sachs, and Goldman chooses different fund managers with various portfolios of stocks and different investments. So what our divestment means is that we've signaled to our fund managers that these three industries cannot be included in our portfolio, and our finance committee is working very closely with the team over there to make sure that happens. The restrictions we've communicated to them work like proactive insurance to ensure that, going forward, our portfolio will be "clean" of these investments. In a way, the stars sort of lined up for us, because Goldman is getting more and more requests for socially responsible investment choices and has created a new department to do just that. So that's an instrument we can take advantage of while further promoting conversations about aligning our investments with our mission.
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