For Philly Students, Broad Exposure Could Have A Broad Impact

Inside Harriett’s Bookshop in Fishtown the week before Thanksgiving, the spirits of celebration and gratitude were high. The grand centerpiece of the little shop was a large table that stretched from the entrance all the way to the middle of the room; it was draped with a cloth and every inch was covered in banquet glasses – for the toast later – that glittered under the lights overhead. To fit as many people as possible, they’d pushed the furniture to the edges of the small room where shelves of books lined the walls. The low-key, low-volume tones of 90’s era R&B over the sound system were a smooth counterbalance to the excited din in the room.

The bookshelves themselves were a gallery of Black authors and Black heroes who peered down at the party of young people, their families, and supporters from the community as they all gathered in this revolutionary space to witness a revolutionary thing: a small coalition of youth-supporting community organizations joined forces to coordinate a weeklong trip for 10 students from YESPhilly Accelerated High School to Paris, France. 

This joyful celebration was their sendoff and the official launch of the Philly In Paris Youth Study-Abroad program.

Gary Paprocki, executive director of YESPhilly, stood to speak and give thanks. When Jeannine Cook, founder and keeper of Harriett’s as well as Ida’s Bookshop in Collingswood, NJ, worked at YESPhilly back in 2008, Paprocki says, “Jeannine changed the way we thought about YESPhilly, in terms of [what they offer]. ‘Let’s have media, let’s have arts, let’s make this fun and engaging.’” One of the finest moments to come of their long relationship, says Paprocki, is “when Jeannine called and said, ‘Do you want to try Philly In Paris with YESPhilly?’, and we said, ‘Yes!’. She made it happen for us.”

YESPhilly serves youth between the ages of 16 and 21 who are not thriving in Philadelphia high schools and have left or are on the verge of leaving, and meets students where they are academically, by offering a flexible and project-based curriculum for students working toward the remaining credits needed to graduate high school. According to YESPhilly’s website, “Most of our students live in Philadelphia’s most high-poverty neighborhoods, and many are pregnant or parenting, or have been involved in the justice system. Many of them have experienced violence, abuse, and neglect and have been allowed to miss their education.” 

In general, thriving in school can be a challenge here. About 60% of Philadelphia students attend low-achieving schools (with Black and Latino students vastly overrepresented in the very lowest-performing schools across the city). Considering that high academic performance and access to critical educational resources go hand-in-hand, it’s not surprising that student outcomes in schools like this are often poor, with support either scarce, overwhelmed, or nonexistent.

Couple that with the fact that the day to day environment of the city offers little safety, peace, or comfort to young people, especially to youth like YESPhilly students. Poverty, disinvestment, disenfranchisement, and lack of opportunity are all contributing factors to the cycles of despair and violence that youth can easily find themselves in.

An aunt of one of the students going on the trip had words of encouragement for the group. “I’m proud of you all for choosing education, and proud of you for choosing to stick with each other and to not fall subject to a lot of things that you could, being from Philly. It’s hard to just choose the right thing.”

Many young people in Philadelphia would agree. While the declining trajectory of gun violence in the city might look promising, the seeming constant in the shifting statistics is really very concerning; namely, that for each of the past three years the number of youth represented in those figures never dropped below one-third – the overall decline in the number of deaths by gun violence notwithstanding. 

This means that out of 211 victims of fatal shootings this year to date, around 74 of them were aged 25 or younger. Last year, that was 120 out of 375. In 2022, it was 177 out of 475.

Simply put, Philadelphia youth are still disproportionately represented in gun violence statistics, and are losing their lives at a percentage rate that hasn’t diminished at all over the last three years, even as the total number of killings continues to shrink.

So, the opportunity of Philly in Paris came as a windfall, and not a moment too soon. 

Cook was already well-acquainted with Paris. She’s a regular visitor, traveling often between her shops in Philadelphia and the sister pop-up bookshop she opened in Paris last year, Josephine’s. When she got the opportunity this past summer to bring some of the youth in her life – her two daughters and a young employee of Harriett’s – along with her, it seemed very obvious. 

“If you think about the Bookshops – Harriett’s, Ida’s, and now Josephine’s – they’re always run by young people”, Cook says. “And what I noticed about movement work throughout history is that the movements that have been the strongest are the ones that were spearheaded by youth.”

Their trip was the perfect chance for exposure to world culture, renowned Black expat culture as forged by James Baldwin or Josephine Baker (the Paris bookshop’s namesake), and, truly, a taste of life outside of Philadelphia – a rare and invaluable thing for youth in the city. That idea grew to encapsulate some of the most vulnerable students – what would this program look like for justice-involved youth? What impact could it have on the lives and futures of young people for whom Philly can feel like the entire world?

The outcome of such exposure could be truly revolutionary… and revolutionary is the point. As the Philly in Paris website explains, 

“Encouraging exploration, drawing parallels between experiences of people of similar background, and fostering positive independence can build a sense of belonging beyond the confines of one’s immediate surroundings. A more interconnected and understanding society can contribute to breaking the cycle of violence by addressing the root causes and promoting a collective commitment to creating safer, more inclusive communities.” 

The goal of the trip isn’t just to see Paris; everyone involved hopes the students also come back with their horizons broadened and a new sense of self and purpose that can ultimately galvanize them into leadership. As Cook said, the most successful movements begin with youth. “You can’t do anything without that element”, she asserts; even still, where there’s a youth-driven movement, “it’s just as essential to have our elders involved, and so what you have is an intergenerational village. That’s just how you make it work.”  

That’s why Jeannine looked for partners among organizations and individuals she already knew had the same passion for creating opportunities for young people. Among them were youth advocate and consultant Claire Williams and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) Aisha Jackson, of Creating Accountable Providers (CAP), which is dedicated to providing “unwavering support and empowerment” to adjudicated youth and their families through life-skills training, conflict resolution strategy and family navigation services. Jeannine also tapped Barbara Eubanks of Going Global with Barbara, an organization that creates and provides inclusive educational travel opportunities for students of color. Nia Eubanks-Dixon, founder and creator of Creative Praxis, an organization that offers training for youth that is rooted in art, creativity, community engagement, joy, and healing, was also enlisted, along with Channel Andrews, Esq., a Philly-born, Paris-based attorney and professor of law who has lived in Paris since 2016. The partners all comprised the core village that supported the students with behavioral support, onsite counseling, legal consultation and protection, social guidance, supervision, and everything else they could possibly need.

The students have since returned from their trip and classes have ended for the year. The impact of this experience is yet to be observed, but it’s safe to say that Paris made a definite impression. Williams says it was a joy to witness the students “have that first moment of being somewhere completely new. The beauty and history of such an old city is amazing to see and to be able to watch their faces as they saw so many different and similar things was touching.”

What would it take to keep a program like Philly In Paris going into the future? It’s evident that collaboration was the linchpin of success in realizing this project. According to Cook, none of the organizations she brought in as partners had worked together before, so that collaboration was like “bringing people together from a lot of worlds and asking them to do a big trust exercise in community. And it worked!” 

That means the other linchpin was community itself. Williams says community investment isn’t always monetary. “Aside from donations, I’d like to see more investment of time from the village.” Ultimately, it was a village that brought this program to life, and it’s a village that can help it grow. 

Certainly, the community showed up at the sendoff for the youth in a way that was truly inspiring to see; now that the trip is over and the students are back to navigating their lives in an often unforgiving city, may the village sustain the spirit of warmth and outpouring of love they brought to the party at Harriett’s. A Fishtown neighbor who stopped in to celebrate put it simply but beautifully:

“Let one experience of exploration lead to the next, because travel is a lifelong learning experience, and you deserve the world.”