Support Boston Organizer with Miami Move!
“I am excited to announce that I am going to be the new Organizing Director at Power U Center for Social Change in Miami Florida. I am Sending this message asking for your support with moving costs for this major transition. At this time I ask my community to continue to make an investment in me by giving to this fundraiser to support my move towards my longings and commitment to build a political home for Black and Brown youth.”
- Ziquelle Smalls
With a family history and childhood roots in social justice organizing - Ziquelle Smalls has grown up with and has been involved in a multitude of youth organizations, and has deep roots with movement formations in Boston and beyond. Now, Ziquelle is moving to Miami, FL to become the Organizing Director at Power U Center for Social Change and needs your support in order to make this happen!
Ziquelle is currently the Lead Organizer of Campaigns & Base-Building at the Youth Justice and Power Union (YJPU) and has been part of the organization since 2013. In their role with YJPU, they have fought boldly in demanding divestment in policing, end black and brown youth criminalization, and end state violence work more largely. This effort is done through redirecting public sector funding into community solutions and other alternative work such as economic employment for young people, and more. This work has been part of a larger struggle to build community ownership and control over decisions that impact our daily lives, build collective governance for by and by communities through democratic decision making, and redistribute funds and wealth into communities most impacted by systems of oppression for transformative change.
Ziquelle has continued to organize for self-determining communities and build youth movement infrastructure for Black liberation work in the city of Boston. They spent the spring of their youth as an early member with Roxbury Environmental Empowerment Project (REEP) supporting the organizing efforts in building the interdependence and self-determination of Black residents in Roxbury revitalizing vacant land due to ongoing racist and classist economic disparities in 2010. .
Ziquelle has also been heavily involved with the ‘Unnamed’ Youth Organizing Group - working towards organizational survival for a multitude of youth organizations; and providing leadership pathways for Black and Brown youth to join movement building organizations, become leaders in their communities, and do effective collaborative organizing and political education work. As part of this transformative organizing collective, Ziquelle has been committed to creating a sustainable movement ecology for youth organizing and youth movements working towards black liberation.
In The City School’s Summer Leadership Program and its mission to develop young people to become effective leaders of social justice, Ziquelle has been a pillar in developing the political maturity and direction of its programming, and implementing larger action space to amplify the voices of queer and non-binary youth from 2012-2018. In that time, they also served as core staff and a Leadership Team member as part of the programs core governing structure and leadership advisory circle in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, Ziquelle directed the Summer Leadership Program and last year, they co-directed the program. The Summer Leadership Program consists of 85+ young people and the Director role involved coordinating key strategy partnerships, as well as supervising and coaching a staff team of 15 people.
For almost 10 years, Ziquelle has continued to steward a multitude of political projects, lead and implement multi-issue campaigns, and support the healing centered engagement for young people to become social justice organizers and leaders for transformative change in their communities. In their work, they have centered queer, racial, and economic justice and gender liberationist movements and so much more.
Ziquelle has made tremendous contributions to the youth movement in Boston, and now, as they make this transition over the next month to Miami. This is an opportunity to honor the investment Zi has made in Boston, with our own contribution to them today.
Our goal is to raise $4,000 by March 4, 2019, to cover costs of moving including first and last month’s rent, security deposit, essential furnishings, emergency fund, and other transition costs. Any contribution helps!
Your contribution and support is not only helping with real moving and survival costs but ultimately creates more possibility to thrive in a new environment. I am so excited for this opportunity to build a political home for Black and Brown youth and Black women in South Florida so that they may help lead the struggle to liberate all oppressed people.
Thank you so much in advance for your contribution.
With gratitude for your support,
<3
Friends of Ziquelle Smalls
