Fifteen-year-old Sherrie Mark remembers when her family first came to Hartford from Grenada, an English-speaking country in the Caribbean. “They put my little sister in a class to teach her English, like it was her second language,” she says in disbelief. “No matter where you go, racism is everywhere.” Thirty youth researchers from Hartford (ages 14-17) working at The Institute for Community Research’s Summer Youth Research Institute (SYRI) have chosen to investigate how racism affects them and their peers, specifically through educational systems, the media, and people’s attitudes, behaviors and opinions. The teens will present their findings, based on interviews, surveys, and visual research, to the community on Friday, August 10, 2007. The event will take place at The Institute for Community Research, 146 Wyllys St. in Hartford. The presentation, including a debut of an original documentary, will take place from 1-4 pm; a reception will follow from 4-5 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

SYRI trains Hartford youth to conduct participatory action research. Through a six-week summer program, youth reach consensus on an issue to investigate, devise methods to collect data, work together to analyze their findings, and then use their results to create change. “This isn’t like school,” says Jonathan Rosario, a 15-year-old sophomore at Bulkeley High School. “When I’m here, I don’t mind writing and taking notes.” Though Jonathan says he personally hasn’t dealt much with racism, he notices favoritism in his classes at school and under representation of people of color on TV. He worries that using racial slurs, even joking around, “can lead people to stereotype others.” Nehemiah Gray, a 14-year-old who attends Fox Middle School, is one of seven youth in the visual research group. They are creating a documentary that will debut at SYRI’s final presentation. “We’re planning to ask people what racism means to them, and we also want to record racist things when we see them,” he explains. Nehemiah also says he doesn’t experience much direct racism in his daily life, but he notes, “I’m in an academy where pretty much all the students and teachers are black.” 

In addition to the interview and visual methods, a third group is conducting a survey to ask other teens about racism they encounter. “Some issues the youth raised are interracial dating, segregation in schools, and language barriers as racism that they deal with,” says Chiedza Rodriguez, a Prevention Research Educator who facilitates the groups and coordinates the SYRI program. While Sherrie, who enters Great Path Academy in the fall, doubts racism will ever completely go away, she says, “You can start with students; getting young people to say what they think problems are, and go from there.”

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The Institute for Community Research is an independent, nonprofit organization that conducts applied research and community enhancement programs to promote equal access to health, education, and cultural resources.