On Saturday, April 21, 2012, we attended a Broadway show called Black Angels Over Tuskegee with the BCCP. It was an amazing opportunity to learn about the Tuskegee Airmen who were African American pilots during World War II.  I thought the show gave great historical background during the war. One of my favorite parts of the play was how most of the men kept secrets. One of the men was married, another brought records along with him, and lastly another one had these epileptic attacks out of nowhere. The significance of the play was to let the audience and myself know that everybody is equal and can become whatever they want. The whole point was you shouldn’t judge somebody by their color or how they look. It is the inside that really matters.

Interviewing the cast members

The BCCP with the director of Black Angels Over Tuskegee, Layon Gray

Group picture on off Broadway

The students of New Utrecht High School act out scenarios of unnecessary violence and STOP! it from continuing. Their message is clear. You have the power to stop violence, whether you are in a violent situation or a bystander witnessing something that is not right. You have the power to make a change.

New Utrecht visited the Brooklyn Zen Center this week and it was by far the most relaxing trip we have taken yet. We learned breathing techniques like counting with each inhale and exhale, the importance of good posture, what to think about or not think about while meditating, and most importantly, using the tools of meditation as an empowerment tool, to be able to create distance in certain situations and take a moment to think before reacting. It was not only inspiring but also fun. There's a weekly teen meditation om Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30. We're definitely coming back!

feeling relaxed in the meditation studio

and happy!

omm

meditation is always better with pizza

Thank you Brooklyn Zen Center!

Let me fly so far from worldly troubles
And sprout from the earth to the sky
Free me from the earthquake’s rubble
And I’ll flee to days I’ll never know
 
Let there be light upon the wronged
And should night never reach its dawn
Then let us breathe the air from which we’ve always longed
For the angels of the sun will make no more

Life at New Utrecht so far… enjoy the good life….

The students at New Utrecht High School learned about making collages in the photographic tradition of David Hockney. We have also been working a lot on stop motion animation. In this piece, we combined elements of both collage and stop motion.

Congratulations to the students at the BCCP from New Utrecht High School! They won second place on their Be The Change Youth Video for Youth Voice NYC. The students talked about what they would change about NYC in 2012. Music by Maya Azucena.

Director Mansoor Hussain’s long awaited trailer is finally here! This film is about a young man in search of something elusive. He tries to find what is missing in a gang but ends up feeling even more lost… until he meets a fortune teller who grants him… THREE WISHES.