(Justin West, ONE leader and GYO Candidate, testifies at Grow Your Own Rally in Springfield, IL)

Reflections from Grow Your Own Rally in Springfield
Feb 25, 2010
by Georgina Sandifer

Grow Your Own day in Springfield was truly an awesome and sobering experience, the reception we received by our elected officials ranged from eager and open to lukewarm and annoyed. There were families there, neighbors and friends, to see community organizing in action was really something; there were people of every age, race, creed and color gathered together for a common cause. On Tuesday, every GYO Consortia from across Illinois, came to Springfield to rally for continued funding for GYO, we came with our feet to walk to every elected officials office to make sure that we were seen and our presence felt. We used our voices to cheer and be heard that GYO must continue to be funded at the same level; Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, $3.5 for GYO, we came with the faith that organized people have power and together we can make a difference.

There were fantastic speeches, haunting chants and melodious songs booming in the rotunda of the State Capital but were we effective, did it do any good? Only time will tell. I am proud to be apart of the work that was done yesterday, and to those of us who were able to make the sacrifice of getting up before 5 am (in some cases), leaving our warm beds and our families behind, traveling for hours to Springfield, to make heartfelt appeals and giving our testimonies for a program we all believe in, bravo! For those who believe in this work and move behind the scenes to make it happen daily, (Hina and everyone at ONE) you rock!

In addition, for those of us who could not be there, there is still much work to be done, and there is still time to play a part in this. We must bombard, our local officials, call them, email them, stop by their offices, and ask your family, friends and neighbors to help. We must ensure that our voice is heard and GYO remains funded at the same level.

Reflections from Grow Your Own Rally
by Curtis Smyles

There are times during your life when you know what you want and what believe in. GYO Day at the state capital was one of those times. The day was challenging from the start, but I was determined to be with my fellow candidates to let our legislators know that GYO was not going away without a fight. We are the future teacher’s for Chicago Public Schools and other struggling school districts across the state. The three hour bus ride was very informative Cohort Coordinators Hina Mahmood and Bridget Murphy provided instructions about how to engage with our elected officials as well as the importance of why we were going to Springfield. I was assigned as a leader of my group which included Hialma Westby and Andrea Lewis. These two ladies helped me stay focused on all the activities of the day. The rally was full of positive energy and enthusiastic speakers who all helped me see the depth of GYO and how many communities it positively effected. Even though this was my second time attending the rally in Springfield, it felt brand new. Hearing all of the speakers and representatives made my heart fill with pride and knowledge that I'm doing the right thing for the community and children of Rogers Park. This day was one of the most inspiring days of my life and I just pray that all candidates involved will continue to work hard to keep our dream alive to have quality educators of color in our communities. GYO will change lives and make the children of the future leaders themselves.