Celeste O. Faison's Bio

My YES! Jams
2002 World Jam

Org: 21st century youth leadership movement
Location: Selma
Website

Bio:

Celeste is a member of the 2003 class of Public Allies, an Americorps program focused on building community through service. Through Public Allies, she is the Youth Organizer at Action for Community Empowerment, leading a campaign to provide youth, ages 14-21, with work experience and job opportunities. At the age of 14, Celeste joined 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement (21C). With 21C, she has traveled to Mali to set up an international conference on education. She attended the UN/NGO conference on racism as a youth delegate, where she headed the youth tent. While there, she was on a team that created and initiated the UN/NGO International Youth network; and was elected as the US Representative for the network. She has served as 21C's youth camp director heading and creating 21C workshops and curricula on the Prison Industrial Complex, Hip Hop, and Environmental Racism. She is trained in the Kingian Methodology of non-violence.

"When I try to describe it to others I never can capture the true essence of it. I think it was spirit. Sharing stories and dreams, hopes and struggles, with out a single word. Being with 30 individuals who each completed a puzzle that simply was love. People searching for the unknown, willing to take risks, to be themselves, to cry and yell and sing off key together. Making music, sharing tears and pain, and exploring life and leadership and transformation and family and just being safe to be 100% you. The joy, grief, healing, overcoming, future and now. And then a world to transform."