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[music]
[Announcer] Welcoming innovation and new ideas,
from those we employ and serve.
Welcome to Chicago at Play
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[Teacher] Ready, and go! 1, 2 3, 4, 5, 6
[Woman speaker] I want to talk to you all about what justice is.
[Instructor]What's important for everyone
in the drum circle to do?
Dance, move, and feel, okay? Feel.
[music]
[Kimeco Roberson] Use Your Words is a day of skill building and arts activism
for and by young people.
So, it is a collaborative event that is hosted by TRACE
but is also supported by True Star magazine.
TRACE stands for Teens Reimagining Art Community
and Environment.
It's a leadership and job training program
of the Chicago Park District.
[Averill] I didn't really know what TRACE was about when I got into it.
And then w hen I got in there,
I learned it was a character building program,
and I've been in it ever since.
It's made me the person I am today.
[Announcer] Groups such as TRACE came together last month
and held the first ever Use Your Words event.
It was a day off of school for the teens,
but they learned plenty about their roles in society.
[Evonne] Most of the time when you have the day off school,
you're just like 'I'm going to go to sleep', but this is fun,
I was having fun in the ballroom workshop.
It's a way to have fun, release some
of the stress we may have during school, and focus our energy
on something positive.
[Instructor]And Rest!
Good!
[DaShaniqua] Today they should learn that they can express themselves,
rather than build it up and be angry,
and that there's other things to do rather than sit
in the house or be on the street.
There are things you can do productively.
[Kimeco Roberson] Words don't necessarily have to be spoken.
This could be using your body, using your mind,
using your thoughts and your opinions.
You can voice those, you can dance those,
you can empower yourself with your own language.
[Dancers cheering]
[Announcer] Throughout the youth festival, teens celebrated
and collaborated about issues that are important to them.
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[Kimeco Roberson] Most of the workshop presenters are donating their time
and their efforts.
They usually prepare their workshops based
on a guiding question we have for TRACE and Use Your Words,
as a part of the social activism that we promote.
That question this year is 'what is justice?'.
So each workshop is designed to address a question in some sort
of way, through body language, through discussion
about what young people are concerned about.
[Female Speaker] How do you create justice
in a situation like that?
You use your expression to deal with it.
[Instructor] If you walk justified,
you won't have to prove a thing.
If you're not on Facebook like this, they won't be able
to say anything about you, right?"
[Evonne] It's a way to allow teens to focus their energy
on something more productive.
It's important that teens are in programs like this
so they can get off the streets and learn other things.
Because you grow up and focus on what you learn.
So if they learn something more productive,
then they'll be more productive when they grow up,
so I feel like that's something important.
[Announcer] Teens learned that they have a voice,
and there are many ways to express that.
And, they learned that the park district is a great place
to have their voice heard.
[music]
[Kimeco Roberson] If you're a young person looking to get involved
in your local park district, just go into your park and ask
if there are things that young people can be a part of.
But also the park district's website has teen clubs,
leadership organizations, you can be a part of leagues,
any sport activities that are for teens,
there is a section for them.
[DaShaniqua] Today basically I got to tell my side
of how I felt the school system is set up.
And I got to learn different ways I can voice my opinion,
respectfully and peacefully.
[Announcer] TRACE is looking for summer interns now, visit our website
for more information about TRACE or other teen programs.
[Kimeco Roberson] We're here as supporters and advocates of young people who,
the young people in Chicago, not everybody is
out there trying to do bad.
A lot of young people that are here and want to promote are
about positive change, and we're here to support that.
[cheering]
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